


Sleepless Nights

by monroe_militia



Category: Revolution (TV)
Genre: F/M, Undercover As Prostitute, slight AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-25
Updated: 2017-06-18
Packaged: 2018-02-10 08:21:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 45,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2017815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monroe_militia/pseuds/monroe_militia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charlie Matheson is working for the rebels and poses as a prostitute in order to get into bed with the leader of the Monroe Republic’s son. She figures that if she can get close to Monroe's son, then maybe she can get close to whatever he's planning as well. But when Connor starts to fall for her she has more to worry about than just getting caught... Will she be able to prevent falling for him?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Absolutely not," Miles told his niece in a stern tone.

"Charlie, don't." Rachel added just as sternly before her voice cracked a little. " _Please_ don't."

"Come on, this chance isn't just going to present itself again," Charlie pointed out. "It's a good plan. When else are we going to get a chance to get into Monroe's headquarters to try and figure out what he's planning and take him down from the inside?"

"If you get caught, you'll be dead," Rachel pointed out. "And that's if you're lucky."

"…I'll do it," Nora piped up.

"You have a tattoo of an American flag," Charlie pointed out. "That's a dead give-away that you're a rebel… I can do it. I'll be fine… Really."

"I am not going to let my daughter go hand herself over as whore to Monroe's son," Rachel argued. "You don't have to do this, Charlie."

"It's not your choice to let me or not," Charlie responded. "And I do have to. Whatever Monroe's planning isn't good. And if sleeping with his son means that we might be able to stop him and save who knows how many lives then it's worth it."

Rachel looked sick as she told her daughter, "At least be careful."

"I will be," Charlie responded. She knew that the words were empty, but figured they might be enough to at least comfort her mother a little.

"If you're going in there, then you're going to need something else to wear," Nora pointed out. "You are way too covered to fit in inside a whore house."

Charlie knew that Nora was probably right and looked around to search for a solution. She noticed that a couple of the workers were outside, leaning against the building and chatting.

"I have an idea," she said before turning and walking over to the two women.

"How much for your dress?" She questioned one of them.

"Honey, clothes ain't what I'm selling," the prostitute responded, causing the other to start snickering.

"Is this enough?" Charlie asked insistently.

The whore looked like she had been about to roll her eyes when she spotted the handful of diamonds that Charlie was offering over to her and hesitated.

"And you can have my clothes," Charlie added hopefully.

* * *

A few minutes later, Charlie stood in front of the entrance to the whorehouse dressed in a skimpy dress and heels that she could barely walk in.

"Your mom is right you know," Nora told her. "You don't have to do this."

The others didn't want to blow Charlie's cover, so they were already getting ready to go back to rebel headquarters. That meant it was just her and Nora.

"Yes. I do." Charlie said seriously before she managed to crack the slightest of smiles. "But at least he's cute, right? I mean, as cute as an evil dictator's son can really be…"

Nora smiled back at her. "Good luck."

"I'll be fine," Charlie insisted one more time before she took in a deep breath and stepped inside.

She immediately spotted him, standing by the bar with a drink in his hand and a grin on his lips. He was utterly surrounded by girls. He must be a hot commodity. Monroe's son probably paid a lot better than any of them were used to getting.

Charlie still had no idea how exactly she was going to convince him to take her home, even if she could get to him, so she decided to head over to the opposite side of the bar first to get a drink as she tried to get her nerve up and figure out what she was going to do.

When she'd finished her drink she decided that, plan or not, she still needed to act now. She couldn't go back and tell everyone that she had let him walk out with someone else without even trying.

She turned to get off of her stool and found herself staring into the eyes of Connor Monroe himself. He was already walking her way with a tilted smile on his lips.

He sat down beside her and then grinned as many of the women glared over at her, already jealous of the tiny bit of attention she was getting.

"All the other girls in here are throwing themselves at me," he commented. "But not you… Why?"

Great, she'd already blown her cover. A+ job, Charlie…

"I'm new here," she told him, struggling to hold on to any chance of remaining undercover. "I'm not used to all of the competition."

"Hmmm, I bet you're not," he agreed, looking her up and down ever so slowly with a smile still tugging at his lips. His eyes remained on her chest where the dress dipped down low in the front for several long seconds before they finally flicked back up to meet her eyes.

Okay, maybe her cover was still intact…

"And I'm sure that you're more than used to all of this fighting over you," Charlie told him in her most flirtatious tone as she placed her elbow on the bar-top and moved to lean her head on her hand, letting her chest stick forward a little more than usual. "Especially with a face like that."

The corner of her lip twitched upwards when he immediately took the bait and looked back down at her cleavage again.

She knew by his inability to think of a response that she had him drawn in and it was time to kick things up a notch. She leaned over, splitting the distance between them in half as one hand moved to his bicep.

His gaze turned to her hand on his arm and her lips were hovering just inches away from his as she added on, "Especially with a body like that…"

As her hot breath hit his lips, his eyes flickered back up to hers.

"I'm Charlie, by the way," she told him with a seductive smile as her hand slid down from his arm to his inner thigh.

"Well, Charlie," he said with a wide smirk. "What do you say we get out of here?"

"I'd love to."

* * *

Charlie had to suppress a grin when, not too long afterwards, she was being led through the front entrance of Monroe's headquarters and straight past the armed guards.

Once they had gotten inside and a little down the hallway, Connor looked back over his shoulder at her, blatantly staring at her in a way that would usually cause her to hand out a few good death threats. But not this time, instead she shot him her flirtiest smile.

It must have worked because he stopped and turned to stare at her with his undivided attention.

She took the opportunity to close the distance between them, pulling him closer by the collar of his shirt until her lips were on his. One of her hands tangled into the curls of his hair as the other still rested on his chest.

He pulled her closer to him with one warm hand on her hip and the other on the small of her back. As the kiss deepened, his second hand slid down to grab her backside.

She forced out a small giggle of surprise against his lips in response. She could feel him pressing against her upper thigh through his pants, so she slid her hand ever so slowly down from his chest to grab him through the fabric.

As he let out a moan against her lips she thought to herself that this was almost too easy.

He reluctantly pulled away from her to continue leading her down the hallway and Charlie silently cursed at herself for jinxing things when she noticed the pair of guards at the end of the hall, one of whom was smirking over at them.

He led her around a turn and as she looked down the other hallways she discovered that there were guards everywhere.

When they reached Connor's room a pair of guards was stationed outside the door. If the place was this protected where she'd seen, then she couldn't imagine how difficult it was going to be trying to get into Monroe's office.

She had definitely jinxed herself by thinking this was easy.

As Connor pulled her through the door and towards him, she forced any thoughts of trying to get into that office out of her mind as she forced her whole concentration back onto Connor and making him happy enough that he'd want to keep her around for a while.


	2. Chapter 2

When Charlie woke up the next morning, she found that Connor was already awake and sitting up. She wasn't exactly sure what the protocol here was, but she figured just getting dressed and leaving would be a safe bet.

…There was only one problem with that. Connor had ripped her dress in half the night before. She had nothing to wear out of here and she was sure that her mom and Miles would flip if she came back without a scrap of clothing on.

"I have to go," she said as she rolled on her side to face him. "And something tells me that dress is no longer wearable."

"Well then maybe you should just stay here and wear nothing," he suggested with a grin.

"Cute, but we both know that you have more important things to do with your day," she pointed out with a teasing smile. "You won't even notice that I'm gone until tonight... And I could be tempted to come back. For a price."

Connor let out a small laugh at that.

"You should definitely come back," he told her.

"You'd have to find me something to wear on the way out first," she teased. "I'm sure that somewhere in this place there's a spare set of clothes."

She knew that ordering him around could end up being a bad choice, but she thought that she could afford to push her luck a little.

"I guess it is my responsibility to go find you a dress," he commented. "Since I'm the one who wrecked the first one… I'll be back in a second."

He got up and pulled on the bare minimum amount of clothing before leaving the room.

Charlie let her head fall back onto the pillow as she silently hoped that he really would come back with clothes instead of just leaving her there all day.

She decided that there were better uses of her time unsupervised in his room, so she sat up and eyed the rest of the room. She quickly scanned to see if anything popped out at her as possibly being important, but all that she saw was a whole lot of nothing. That wasn't overly surprising… Why would he leave anything important in here if he was going to have total strangers spend the night?

She was about to get up to search a little more thoroughly when the sound of the door opening caused her head to whip around.

Connor tossed a new dress, at least as revealing as the one that she had shown up in the night before, and a pouch of diamonds over to her before he turned towards his dresser to go grab some clothes without a glance back at her.

* * *

"You are _not_ going back there," Rachel insisted.

"I have to," Charlie argued.

"You said yourself that there were guards everywhere," Rachel pointed out. "Even if you could take a few of them out, new ones would hear you and come to take their place. How do you think that you're going to get anywhere near something important?"

"I'll figure it out," her daughter responded angrily. "I've gotten closer than anybody else has. And if I go back then I can get more information to use to plan out how I'm going to do it."

Nora walked in the room then and Charlie tossed the pouch that Connor had given her over.

"Here, some new funding," Charlie told her. "Courtesy of mini Monroe."

Nora opened the pouch and looked inside, seeming impressed. "You must have given him quite the night."

Charlie let out a laugh before she asked, "Could you imagine the look on Monroe's face if he found out that his son was inadvertently funding the rebellion?"

"It's not funny, Charlie," Rachel argued. "If Monroe finds out, he'll make an example out of you."

"Well then I guess that it's a good thing that he isn't going to find out," Charlie told her.

"Did you find anything out?" Nora questioned.

"Not yet," Charlie responded. "I'm going back tonight though."

"Have I mentioned that I hate this plan lately?" Danny questioned. "Seriously, I stay home for one night and you start whoring yourself out to a Monroe."

"You've already complained about this four hundred times in the last ten minutes," his sister replied. "And I'm still not changing my mind about this. I didn't screw him last night so that I could back out now."

* * *

When Charlie returned to Monroe's headquarters, the guards immediately let her through and each one that she passed told her which way to turn to get to Connor's room. It was an advantage to be able to get past some of the guards, but she wasn't sure how she felt about them giving her directions. It was going to be hard to wander off anywhere else.

Connor wasn't back yet when Charlie entered his room, so she decided to take the chance to rummage through his stuff a little.

As she searched through things, she was careful that she didn't move them too far. She listened carefully for the sound of footsteps outside the door and made sure that at any given point that she wouldn't have too many things out of place to fix. She needed be able to put everything back in place before he could get through the door.

She managed to check the whole room to no avail. She'd been expecting this result, but still had figured that it was worth a try to check.

Connor still wasn't back, so Charlie took a seat on his bed to wait. As she did, she considered what she should do when he came in to try and keep her cover.

By the time that the door actually moved, Charlie had settled on the one-liner, 'See, it's like I never even left', but she didn't get the chance to say it.

She only managed to get a word or two out before Connor had already closed the distance between them, wasting no time before kissing her hard.

She supposed that she shouldn't really be surprised. After all, he wasn't paying her for talk.


	3. Chapter 3

Charlie had spent every night with Connor for the last week, but she still didn't have any idea of how she was going to get into Monroe's office. She had, however, overheard a couple of guards gossiping and found out that Monroe had left and taken a couple of his best men with him on some important trip. That didn't sound good and she knew that she needed to figure out some sort of plan by the time that he got back, unless she wanted it to already be too late.

"I feel sorry for you," Nora commented as she and Charlie lounged around in rebel headquarters. "…Having to sleep with mini Monroe, especially when he thinks you're a whore… I mean it's got to be all about him, right?"

"I so don't want to hear about this," Danny complained as he got up and left the room, taking Miles' precious whiskey with him.

Nora snickered a little as she watched him go.

Once it was just the two of them, Charlie asked her, "Can we not call him mini Monroe?"

"Mini Monroe was your nickname for him, remember?" The older woman pointed out.

"Yeah, but now it grosses me out," Charlie responded. "I prefer not to think about the fact that he's related to Monroe when I'm sleeping with him."

"I could understand that," Nora agreed. "But you still haven't answered me. It's all about him in the bedroom, isn't it?"

"He's not that bad… I mean maybe it was all about him the first couple of nights, but now I've got him wrapped around my finger," Charlie responded.

"Are you kidding me?" Nora questioned. "Okay, but he still must suck in bed... He must have like no practice actually trying to pleasure someone else, right? And even if he has had practice, it must have been with whores who would tell him he was amazing no matter what, right?"

Charlie let out a small laugh, "Well, actually…"

"Seriously? How in the hell did you end up getting paid to get good sex?" Nora demanded. "I mean I know it's with an evil dictator's son, so that's kind of a drag, but you said it yourself that he's pretty cute."

"It's not like I'm only there to sleep with him," Charlie pointed out. "I still have to figure out how the hell I'm going to get near anything important."

"Yeah, and I'm sure that you aren't even enjoying yourself a little bit in the meantime," Nora retorted sarcastically.

* * *

As soon as Connor walked into his room, Charlie headed towards him to take charge from the start.

A grin formed on his lips at the sight of her. But as he opened his mouth to speak, he instead found her tongue in his mouth.

As they kissed, she dragged him over to the bed and then pushed him back onto it.

"Someone's eager," he commented with a grin as she crawled onto the bed and began to kiss at his neck.

She let out a small laugh against his skin before ripping the front of his shirt open, sending buttons flying everywhere.

"I know that it's my responsibility to find you a new shirt, since I wrecked this one," Charlie purred in his ear. "But I like you so much better out of it."

"Well then maybe I shouldn't have gotten you that dress," Connor told her. He let out a chuckle as he grabbed her by the hips and rolled them over. "Since I certainly prefer you out of it."

Charlie smirked a little before bringing her lips back to his and rolling them over again so that she was back on top, sitting on his chest to keep him from trying that again.

As she grabbed his hands and pinned them above his head, he grinned up at her and commented, "You're something else, Charlie."

Most girls would never risk trying to take charge with him. Usually he would hate it, but there was something about the way that Charlie did it that he couldn't resist.

"But in all the best ways, right?" She asked in her most flirtatious tone. "…You know you love it."

With that she brought her lips back down to meet his.

A few minutes later, when she came up for air, Connor told her, "You know, you're completely ruining other girls for me."

"Good," she told him with a wide grin.

* * *

Charlie had stayed there overnight each time so far, but she couldn't quite make herself do it this time… He just looked so innocent and vulnerable as he slept and it was making the guilt that much worse.

In normal life, she definitely didn't sleep around. She'd never slept with a guy right off the bat like this before. She'd always been overly cautious and had gotten to know guys well before jumping into bed with them.

Sex meant something to her, but she was pushing that aside for this whole mission. At first it hadn't been that hard because she had known that it meant nothing to him. But now it seemed like Connor was starting to get attached and, although she knew that it was a good thing as far as the mission went, that didn't help get rid of the pit of guilt in her gut.

She had been lying awake for what felt like hours on end when she finally slipped carefully from the bed and pulled her dress back on before tiptoeing towards the doorway, carrying her shoes with her so that they wouldn't make any noise.

As she walked down the halls and out of the front door, she ignored the looks from all of the guards that she passed. She had become more than used to the walk of shame during the last week, although she was used to doing it in the morning instead of the dead of night.

* * *

By the time that she got back to rebel headquarters, everyone was already off to bed. She crept carefully down the hallways and towards her room.

She couldn't stand the idea of waking anyone up right now and having to deal with their questions about what she was doing back already.

She turned into her room and crawled into her own bed, which had remained untouched for days, to try to get some sleep. Despite her best efforts, sleep didn't come until almost the crack of dawn.


	4. Chapter 4

Luckily for Charlie, no one in rebel headquarters seemed to have noticed that she had come back early the night before. Or if they did, they at least didn't mention it to her which was a relief within itself.

Unfortunately, when it came time for her nightly visit to Connor, Charlie was still exhausted and sleep-deprived from the night before.

Once again, Charlie found herself alone in Connor's room as she waited for him to get back.

This time she decided to lie down as she waited, figuring that she may as well make herself comfortable as she waited.

Connor was later than usual and after an hour of waiting for him, Charlie drifted off to sleep.

* * *

By the time that Connor finally headed back to his room, he was beyond exhausted from the long day he'd had. As he walked through the hallways, he wondered to himself whether Charlie would be back again or not.

She had disappeared in the middle of the night before and he had woken up to find her missing for the first time since he had met her. He wasn't sure of why she had snuck out or what it had meant, but he did know that he had been surprisingly disappointed to find that she was gone.

As Connor walked through the doorway of his room, he smiled to himself at what he found.

There she was, lying curled up on top of the covers and fast asleep. He must really be back late then.

Connor approached the bed slowly, trying to remain as quiet as possible, before stopping next to Charlie, who had goose bumps standing out on the flesh of her arms.

He brushed a loose strand of hair that had fallen over her face out of the way before he carefully bent down to lift her up, being careful not to wake her as he did so.

Once she was in his arms, he shifted so that he held her against his chest with one arm as his other pulled the covers back. He then gently placed her back down on the bed, setting her head down on the pillow, before pulling the covers back up to tuck her in.

He walked around the bed and sat down on the other side, then kicked his shoes off before reaching to unfasten the buttons on his shirt.

Once he had stripped off enough clothes to be suitably dressed for sleeping, Connor pressed his lips to Charlie's forehead before crawling into bed to get some much needed sleep himself.

* * *

When Charlie woke up the next morning, she was first surprised to find that she had fallen asleep while waiting. Next, she was surprised when she realized that it was already light out. That meant that it was morning and Connor must have already come back.

Charlie blinked a few times to try and wake up a little more before she moved to sit up, only to find a whole new set of surprises.

Connor was nowhere to be seen, but she now realized that she was under the covers which she was certain she had been waiting lying on top of.

Charlie looked down at the bed in confusion and that's when she spotted it out of the corner of her eye.

There, sitting on top of Connor's pillow, was a folded up piece of paper that was being held down by two pouches of diamonds.

Charlie understood that one of them was for the night that she had left while he was asleep without having been paid yet. What she didn't understand was why she seemed to be getting paid for falling asleep. She also didn't particularly understand why Connor hadn't just woke her up when he had gotten back.

She slowly moved the pouches out of the way before hesitantly picking up the piece of paper. She was dreading finding out what was written on it.

_You were asleep when I got here and looked like you could use the rest. I didn't want to wake you. See you tonight._

Charlie felt a surge of anger as she balled her hand into a fist, crumpling the note within it.

This was not how things were supposed to go... Charlie was supposed to be just a whore to Connor, nothing more… He wasn't supposed to be letting her sleep or tucking her in or leaving her notes on his pillow when she was still sleeping as he left.

Why did he have to make everything so much more complicated for her? She already had enough to worry about without this.

* * *

"Here's the pay for the last couple of nights," Charlie commented as she handed the pouches of diamonds over to Nora.

Nora could sense that there was something off with the other woman, but she couldn't put her finger on what exactly that something was.

"You alright, Charlie?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Charlie told her.

"Are you sure?" Nora checked.

"Positive," Charlie lied.

* * *

Charlie felt an ever-growing pit of dread in her gut as she waited in Connor's room.

This time, she didn't have to wait long, since he arrived at the door mere minutes after she had.

She definitely was not in any mood for talking, so she decided to try and prevent any attempts on his behalf by sliding her dress off of her shoulders and letting it fall to the floor.

It wasn't anything that Connor hadn't seen before, yet a huge grin still formed on his lips as she did so.

Charlie closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his neck as she brought her lips to his, mostly just so that she wouldn't have to see him looking at her like that anymore. Charlie's guilt was at an all-time high, but she had a job to do and she couldn't let that show.

Connor grabbed her by the legs to lift her up and Charlie's legs instinctively wrapped around his waist. She forced herself to smile against his lips at that as she tightened her arms around him even further, pulling herself as close to him as possible.

* * *

"Where are you going?" Connor questioned as Charlie got out of bed.

Charlie forced herself to smile over at him as she teased, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"You should stay over tonight," he commented as he watched her grab her clothes up off of the floor. "I missed you the other night."

"You were asleep when I left," Charlie pointed out as she got began to get dressed. "You didn't even notice that I was gone until morning."

"I like waking up with you here," he admitted with a gut-wrenching smile.

"I'm not your girlfriend, Connor," Charlie insisted while keeping her tone as playful as possible. She knew she was walking a very thin line here. "And I don't do the girlfriend experience. My job here's done for the night."

She saw his face fall and quickly turned away. That was something she couldn't stand to watch right then, so instead she just headed for the door without waiting for his response.


	5. Chapter 5

Charlie had a lot less luck trying to hide the fact that she was back early this time. The time before, she'd at least come back in the middle of the night when everyone was sleeping. This time she had come back much earlier and only a few people had gone to bed for the night.

The instant that Charlie walked inside, Nora spotted her and the look on her face.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Nora asked as she rose to her feet and headed towards where the other girl was standing.

"Charlie? What the hell are you doing back here this early?" Miles questioned as he walked into the room.

Great. An audience. That was just what Charlie needed at that moment.

"I came home to sleep in my own bed," Charlie answered, trying to dodge their questions. "Is that a problem?"

"I thought that mini Monroe liked you sleeping over," Miles commented, shifting a little on his feet as if he wasn't entirely comfortable talking about Charlie's undercover sex life with her. "He didn't find out that you're a rebel, did he?"

"Don't call him mini Monroe," Charlie told him. "And don't you think that if he found out that I would have led with that information? I just couldn't make myself sleep over there anymore."

"Why not? Did something happen?" Nora asked.

"No... Maybe," Charlie admitted. "I think he's falling for me."

"Isn't that sort of the point of this whole thing?" Miles questioned. "Convincing Monroe's son to fall for you so that you can try and get access to his office and information? Wasn't that your idea, Charlie?"

"He was supposed to keep me around for sex," Charlie retorted. "He wasn't supposed to fall for me. There weren't supposed to be any feelings involved. That's why I told him that I wasn't going to pretend to be his girlfriend and came home early because-"

"Hold on. You what?" Miles cut her off mid rant. "You actually told him that you weren't going to act like his girlfriend?"

Charlie nodded her head sheepishly.

"Christ, Charlie. You have got to be kidding me," Miles commented, pinching the bridge of his nose as he struggled to think of any kind of solution. "What did you say to him? Exact words?"

"He was trying to convince me to sleep over," Charlie started a little nervously as she tried to remember how exactly she had worded it. "And then I said that I wasn't his girlfriend, that I don't do the girlfriend experience, and that my job was done for the night."

"And what did he say?" Miles questioned.

"Nothing. I just said it and left," Charlie admitted.

"At least she said that her job was done for the night and not forever," Nora piped up.

"It would have been a hell of a lot better if she'd just kept him happy and let him get even more comfortable around her," Miles pointed out before turning back to face his niece. "What's the point in volunteering to sleep with a Monroe if you're just going to try and blow things as soon as you get the chance to try and earn mini Monroe's trust?"

Charlie didn't try to correct him on the mini Monroe comment that time. Her uncle was already angry enough and she knew that he was right. She hadn't volunteered for this to back out now, but that wasn't what she was proposing.

"I don't know if I can pretend to have feelings for him without _actually_ developing feelings for him," Charlie admitted before clenching her eyes shut.

There. She'd said it. The thing she was so damn afraid of.

When it was silent for several long seconds, Charlie finally peeked an eye open to look over at her uncle. He looked less angry now and more exasperated instead.

"Look, Charlie," he told her, his voice coming out a lot less harsh. "I wish that we could put your feelings ahead of everything else, I really do. But this is more important than trying to keep you from getting your feelings hurt or your heart broken. If we don't figure out what Monroe's up to, then a lot of people's lives are at risk."

"I know. You're right," Charlie admitted, swiping a traitorous tear from her cheek.

She hated that her anger was hooked up to her tear ducts. At least she'd managed to keep from crying in front of Connor when she'd gotten mad. That would not have gone well if she'd turned into a crying mess.

Miles let out a sigh. Almost all the progress that she'd made had been destroyed and now they were going to have to do a lot of back-tracking.

"Do you think he'll let you go back again?" Miles asked. "Or do you think he'll be too pissed that you turned him down?"

Charlie thought back to the night that he'd come to his room especially late as she told her uncle, "He'll let me back."

"Are you sure?" He asked, wanting to be extra cautious that Charlie wasn't going to go walk herself straight into danger.

"One night I fell asleep on top of the covers waiting for him and, not only did he let me sleep because apparently I 'looked like I could use the rest', I woke up tucked in to find that he'd left a note that said that he'd left so that I wouldn't wonder where he was and worry," Charlie pointed out. "And he still paid me. So, yeah. I'm pretty sure he'll still let me come back."

"Wait, you never told me about that," Nora commented.

She'd grown used to getting updates on Charlie's visits to Connor. They weren't necessarily detailed, but still. She was surprised that Charlie had never mentioned the note to her before.

"You can't just go running back there tonight. You're going to have to be a little subtle about it, okay?" Miles questioned. "Let him think that he won you over as his fake girlfriend. But, whatever you do, don't let him know that you just changed your mind right back. He might get suspicious and we don't need you getting caught."

"I'll be fine," Charlie insisted.

* * *

The next night, Charlie's nerves were getting the better of her. She was possibly the most nervous she'd been yet about her nightly visits to Connor as she tried to decide what to wear that would make him most likely to forget how she'd started leaving earlier and earlier the last few nights.

Finally, she decided on the dress that he'd brought to her that first morning. Maybe it was a little obvious, but she figured that it would show him that she still had the dress he'd given her. And she could use anything that could help her try to become the exact thing she'd told him she never would be the night before. After all, it was going to be a little complicated trying to not be too obvious while trying to switch her opinion on the subject completely, quite literally, overnight.

* * *

She was back a little late, but Charlie thought that might be for the best if it meant that she wouldn't have to wait as long in his bedroom.

She knew that there was no information in there already. He didn't keep anything important in his room, unless you counted expensive scotch and clothes. Somehow she didn't think that was the kind of thing that she could bring back to rebel headquarters without getting yelled at for potentially blowing her cover.

There was nothing to do in his room to distract herself as she waited. The waiting was always the part that made her the most nervous, so she was filled with a mixture of relief and dread when she walked into Connor's room to find that he was already back with a glass of scotch in hand.

So that was his alternative to her after a long day. At least he hadn't gone out and found himself another girl. That would have been a bit of a difficult situation. It turned out that having him unusually attached to her for someone who he pays to sleep with him did have its perks.

His back was to her as he took a swig out of his glass. She wasn't sure of what exactly to do as she took a few steps into the room. During her nights with him, Charlie had mostly figured out how to act around him.

She hadn't exactly grown comfortable around him. She wasn't sure that was the right word when she was still wracked with nerves and guilt. But, still. She had learned how to be around him and she hadn't felt this unsure in his presence since the first or second night.

She was about to say something to make sure that he knew she was there, although she figured that the sound of the heavy door shutting must have tipped him off to that, when he turned his head to look at her over his shoulder.

"I wasn't sure you'd come back," he commented before turning away again and pouring himself another glass.

"Why? Just because I slept in a different bed last night?" She questioned in a tone that she really hoped came off as playfully teasing and not just obnoxious and harsh.

"Do you want a drink?" He offered.

One drink couldn't hurt. If anything it might just calm her damn nerves down.

"Yes," she told him. As an afterthought she added on quietly, "Thanks."

He poured another glass and turned to hand it to her, finally staying facing her.

"I like the dress," he commented as his eyes raked over her. It was clear that he remembered where she'd gotten it from.

He held his own drink in his hand, but had yet to take a sip since refilling it. For a split second, the fact that this was President Monroe's son she was dealing with crossed Charlie's mind and she considered the possibility that he could have poisoned the drink. He could just be waiting for her to drink it so that he could get his revenge at her for daring to think herself too good for him.

But, no. This was Connor. And even though she was nervous that he was probably still mad at her, she didn't think that the same guy who had told her that she was ruining other girls for him as he looked at her with the most innocent face would also poison expensive scotch just so that he could watch her die.

Charlie smiled at him, then took a swig of her drink. She was fairly sure that there was nothing in it. Besides, she had already asked for it and had been acting suspiciously enough. Even if she had really been concerned about the possibility of him slipping something in the drink, she still couldn't really get away with not trying it.

Connor watched her for a minute before downing his own glass in one swig.

"Thirsty?" She asked in an amused tone.

"Wouldn't want to keep you waiting," he told her. "You've made it pretty clear that you're only here to get your job done, nothing else."


	6. Chapter 6

Charlie was relieved when Connor's after-glow left him a lot less cold and distant than he had been when she had first arrived. Although, with how rigid he had been when she had first arrived, it was no wonder that sex had made him loosen up a little. 

She'd done her best job to leave him extra happy in the hopes that he would warm up to her a little again. She thought that her efforts must have paid off, at least a little bit. 

Or at least it seemed that way when, after she didn't get back up right away, he curiously asked, "What happened to just doing your job then leaving? ...Not that I'm complaining." 

Charlie struggled to reach a non-suspicious balance in her tone as she teased, "Don't get too excited, it's just a bed. It's not like we're getting married… I'm just tired." 

He didn't seem too offended by that answer as he rolled onto his side to face her. "Can I ask you a question?" 

"I can't stop you from asking anything," she pointed out as she turned her head to look over at him. "But I might actually answer it, depending on how personal it is." 

Connor stared over at her as he seemed to debate with himself for a minute about whether or not to ask. She tried to wait, but her curiosity got the better of her. 

"What?" She asked him. "Didn't you have a question?" 

He did, he just wasn't entirely sure whether he wanted to know the answer or not. 

Finally, he asked her, "Do you like me at all? …Or is this all just an act?" 

Charlie could feel her stomach drop at the mention of it being an act and alarm bells went off in her head once again. She silently hoped that he didn't notice that as she forced a playful smile onto her lips. 

"Cute… Good in bed… Pays well... You're right. I can't stand you," she teased him. "Now let me sleep before I change my mind about staying here tonight." 

Connor watched her for a moment longer before resting his head back on his pillow and shutting his eyes. 

* * *

"She's not back yet," Nora pointed out to Miles. "That's got to be a good sign, right?" 

He was clearly worried and dealing with it in his typical Miles fashion, by drinking and pretending that there was nothing bothering him any more than usual, but Nora knew better. She could see it in his lounged posture, which was just a little too rigid to be considered casual, as he watched the people around him. He was clearly trying to pass it off as if he was sitting there to people-watch, rather than because of the spot's the close proximity to the doors, but she wasn't fooled by him. 

He glanced up at her before focusing back on the other rebels and finally responding, "Could be a good sign… Or it could be a very bad one." 

"You think he knows what she's there for?" Nora questioned. 

Miles ran his fingers through his hair, tugging on it more than he was actually combing it, as he answered, "I don't know. I'd guess that, if we're lucky, then he's just pissed and not suspicious. But I don't know the kid. He showed up after I'd already left." 

Nora frowned. "I guess we'd just better hope that he isn't as paranoid as Monroe then." 

* * *

Charlie woke up the next morning to find Connor still asleep. That raised a small problem. 

She couldn't leave while he was sleeping, that much had become abundantly clear. Waking him up to leave seemed like just as bad of an option, but she didn't think him waking up to her watching him would help her cover any further. 

Finally, she settled on lying back and pretending to be asleep as she tried to plan out what she was going to do when he woke up. She debated with herself whether she would be better off pretending to still be asleep until he was gone or trying to risk the increasingly tricky task of attempting to flirt with him without acting too suspiciously. 

She had settled on pretending to be asleep unless he tried to wake her up, since it seemed like the safer option for the time being, when he finally woke up and her decision turned out to be pointless anyways. 

Charlie's curiosity got the best of her within five seconds of him starting to shift on the other side of the bed. She had only intended to take a quick peek at what he was doing and to try to judge his mood, but instead she wound up caught off guard when he was staring straight back into her eyes. Her heart began to thump embarrassingly loudly in her chest, preparing for fight or flight, as she stared back at him with wide eyes that she was certain had to be giving up that she hadn't really been asleep. 

"How long have you been watching me like that?" She asked in a tone that sounded nervous to her ears. 

He watched her in silence for a few more nerve-wracking moments before he finally responded, "Five seconds. Maybe." 

Charlie found herself feeling in a strange position of complete uncertainty. She plastered on a teasing smile that she silently hoped reached her eyes as she told him, "You scared the hell out of me." 

"You're not used to sharing beds, are you?" He asked in a light tone that stood out starkly against the weight the question held in Charlie's mind. 

For a split second she debated telling him that she had been lying to him from the start in order to try to save her own ass or trying to pass off another lie as being her true reason for being there, but she quickly shook both of those ideas off. 

"Most of my clients aren't looking for anything beyond sex," she told him instead. "Plus they don't tend to have beds worth staying in." 

Charlie felt a sickening wave of relief wash over her as his face contorted into a pained expression for just a split second before he forced it back into something closer to indifference. 

The mention of other guys and implication that a comfy bed was the only thing that made him stand out made him stop asking questions pretty quickly. The fact that the mention of those things could be an even further back-track was nowhere in Charlie's mind in that moment though. Instead, she found herself regretting her answer, however necessary it may have been, for a whole other reason as the pillow-talk effectively ended and he moved to get out of bed. 


	7. Chapter 7

Connor already had Charlie on the bed, half-undressed under him, when he took her by surprise by removing his lips from her neck to look down at her as he asked, "How many?"

"What?" She asked as her brain tried to catch up to what was going on.

"How many other clients do you have?" He clarified.

She ran her fingers through his curls and smirked up at him as she questioned, "Is that really what you want to talk about right now?"

She had been hoping that would be the end of the conversation as she moved to wrap her arms around his neck in an attempt to pull him down towards her, but he didn't budge. He kept his body hovering over hers and his weight on his forearms, resting on either side of her, as he told her, "I want to know."

"With a client like you, who needs more than one?" She teased.

"You know, this seems an awful lot like the girlfriend experience to me," He told her. His lips twitched up into an arrogant smirk before he added, "Staying over regularly... Not sleeping with anyone else... Taking all my money-"

That caught her off-guard and she let out a heavy laugh. It wasn't a fake little giggle that she had forced out at something in order to try to feed his ego, but a genuine mouth wide open laugh. She quickly moved a hand up to cover her mouth, since she knew that it wasn't attractive. He didn't seem to mind though as he reacted with a beaming smile that formed on his lips.

When she managed to get herself under control again, she told him, "You're right. I should be charging you extra."

"Name the price," he said, then brought his lips to kiss along her jaw. "Whatever you want."

"However much you think I'm worth," Charlie teased.

"If I had to pay you what I thought you were worth, I wouldn't have been able to afford you that first night," he insisted.

"I thought you were rich," she commented as she draped a leg over him, letting her foot slowly drag along his calf as she did so.

"I am," he responded. "But even I don't have that kind of money."

Charlie wrapped her arms tighter around him and pulled him down to meet her lips.

* * *

"You look like you're in a good mood," Nora commented as Charlie walked back into the rebel headquarters. "That mean you're in good with Connor again?"

Charlie smiled over at her mysteriously and told her, "Maybe."

"Good. You should enjoy it while you can, instead of spending your time worrying about when it'll end," Nora insisted.

"Easier said than done," Charlie pointed out.

"I know," the older woman responded. "I started dating Miles while he was still in the militia, remember?"

* * *

That night, Charlie was getting ready to go back to see Connor when Nora appeared in the doorway and caught her staring into the mirror.

As soon as she noticed the reflection of the other woman standing behind her, Charlie turned around and faced her friend as she asked, "Is it bad that I'm starting to get weirdly comfortable in these tiny dresses?"

Nora let out a laugh at that and shook her head. "No. I don't see anything wrong with that. You look good. You've got a boy you like fawning all over you. You should feel good about it."

"If only it was that easy," Charlie countered.

"Hey, you only have to worry about Monroe when you're showing up and leaving," Nora pointed out. "Somehow I don't think the secret to getting at anything important is going to show up in his son's bedroom. That means it's more fun than mission, right?"

Charlie knew that, even if that was true, it wouldn't last for long and that she should be hoping to successfully complete her mission as soon as possible, yet she couldn't quite make herself feel that way.

* * *

Even as his fake girlfriend, Charlie was still a little weary. Sure, she was enjoying herself and spending the night like he liked, but she still had one rule left to try to keep herself from getting even more crushed when she would have to betray him. She slept in the same bed as him, but she never let herself cuddle up to him at night.

"How in the hell did I get lucky enough to get you?" Connor questioned one morning as he grinned down at her.

"Hmm, I think it might have had something to do with the money," she teased.

"Really?" He questioned in a tone of mock surprise before he ducked his head down to sneak in a morning kiss. "I never would have guessed."

* * *

Charlie was walking through the hallways on her way out, barely able to hold back a dopey grin, when she suddenly came tumbling down from cloud nine head-first and right back into reality at the sound of a voice around the corner.

"-rebels won't know what hit them."

She froze like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar as the source of the sound turned the corner. It was President Monroe, back from his trip and talking to one of his men. This could not be good. How had she so stupidly missed her chance to get into his office while he wasn't there? Maybe there hadn't been any opportunities, but she had known that it wouldn't be easy and she would only had a limited amount of time. She should have made her own opportunity while she had still had time.

Monroe's eyes barely glazed over her, which was probably an advantage, considering the way that she was standing there blatantly staring at him. He was probably used to that though as the president of the republic and he didn't have time to be bothered with the mysterious prostitute standing in his way, so he was already past her by the time that she managed to compose herself and keep walking.


	8. Chapter 8

"I'm sick of being left behind while you go on important missions," Connor complained.

"Too bad," Monroe told him unsympathetically. "I need you here to keep an eye on things where I know you're safe."

"Safe?" Connor scoffed. "I thought I was supposed to be a member of this militia. I thought I was supposed to take it over some day. How the hell am I supposed to do that when you won't let me do a damn thing because it's all 'too risky'? Shouldn't you be preparing me to be your successor instead of keeping me locked up in here?"

"I promised your mother that I would keep you safe," Monroe argued in an exasperated tone. His eyes shot his son a pleading look, which only succeeded at pissing the younger man off even more. "There is plenty for you to do and learn here and here is where you're staying. That's final."

"What about what you promised me?" Connor snapped. "You told me you would give me everything, but you won't even trust me with the slightest bit of power."

"Connor!"

As Connor stormed out of his father's office, Monroe called after him. The younger man didn't slow though and instead slammed the door on his way out to emphasize his exit.

* * *

Charlie could tell that Connor was not in a good mood from the moment he walked through the door. His shoulders were stiff, his body was rigid, and his features were all unusually cold. Her first reaction almost caused her to strike a fight pose, lest he have figured anything out about the reason behind her being there, but she quickly stopped herself and decided to let things play out a little first.

He began to grumble to himself as he tore the buttons of his jacket open, fumbling with them a little as he rushed with one hand. He still hadn't so much as glanced in her direction since walking through the door.

Charlie unfolded her legs from beneath her and rose from the bed to slowly walk towards him. Something was clearly upsetting him more than a little and she found herself feeling more concerned about him than she was about her own safety. This couldn't be about her, she thought, since he wasn't directing any of his anger towards her. Still, she found herself wanting to get to the bottom of it and help get rid of whatever was clearly weighing on him.

She walked around him to be standing chest to chest, then gently pushed his hands aside and slowly began to unbutton the last two buttons on his jacket for him, one after the other, as her eyes studied his expression.

He was clearly still annoyed, but at least he stopped grumbling and stilled as he looked back down at her with slightly calmer features.

She pushed the jacket off of his shoulders, letting it fall to the floor in a heap, but made no move to remove her hands from his chest. She inched a little closer and they were nearly touching as she glanced curiously up at him and opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong. Her words were abruptly cut off before they had even left her lips as he quickly took a step back, tearing himself from her grip.

* * *

He should have kissed her. Any other night he would have been all over her, but now he could hardly concentrate enough to look at her.

He'd been waiting for his father to come back with the imbecilic hope that he would finally get what he was promised. He had gone through training. He was supposed to be the next president. He wanted to get out there and do something. He wanted to help make decisions. He wanted his uniform to be more than just for show. And like an idiot, he had actually believed his father when he had claimed that they'd discuss it after he got back.

Oh, they'd discussed it alright, but it hadn't gotten Connor any further than it always did and he was getting more than a little sick of it.

He ran a hand over his face and let out a deep exhale before turning to pour himself a drink. He didn't offer her one and she didn't ask. Instead, she watched as he downed it in one swig before he finally settled on the edge of the bed.

She sat down beside him, as close as she could, and ran her hand through the side of his hair. He glanced over as if somehow just noticing she was there and then finally commented, "My dad's a dick."

* * *

Charlie wasn't sorry to hear those words escape his lips. In fact, she was quite pleased to hear that he didn't look up to his father like some kind of hero that he couldn't wait to become just like. She kept her composure though and carefully chose her next words so that they wouldn't come off as too curious, but would still lead to a chance for more information on Monroe's situation, hopefully without gathering any suspicion about her own.

She crawled onto his lap and wrapped one arm around his neck as her other hand gently tugged on his hair in order to direct his gaze up to her own. "Do you want to talk about it?"

* * *

He had this beautiful girl in his room, one of the only good things he had going for him since he had moved into Monroe's mansion of over-powering fatherly control, and he couldn't even concentrate on her for long enough to give her the attention she truly deserved. Instead, he was letting his dad win and dwelling on all of the problems that he had planned on coming back to his room to escape.

Connor's hands moved to her hips and he slid her closer to him as his lips found their way to her neck. She could feel his teeth graze her flesh with the kisses and less than enthusiastically realized that he was probably marking her as his own. Still, she would take a couple of hickeys over a militia branding any day.

His lips trailed up her jaw line, then he stopped to murmur in her ear, "No, I don't want to talk. I want you to distract me."

* * *

"Don't you have to go?" Charlie questioned when Connor was acting particularly frisky the next morning.

He mumbled out an answer that came out completely incoherent against her skin.

"You're telling me that the president's son doesn't have anything better to do with his morning?" She challenged.

He smirked up at her. "I don't know, you are pretty good."

She rolled her eyes a little and let out a laugh. "I meant something more important."

"I'm just in the militia to sit around and look pretty," he informed her with a smile that didn't sit quite right. "What does it matter if I show up a little late?"

"I thought looking pretty was my job," she taunted with a wide grin.

Charlie practically jumped in surprise when the door flew open. She suddenly became very aware of just how much of her body was on display. Connor was covering her up much more than any of the bedding was. She had to fight her first instinct to cover herself more with her arms or the sheets. She was supposed to be perfectly comfortable with men seeing her like this. Even if that man happened to be President Monroe, who was standing over the bed and gave her a quick once over before focusing his attention over onto Connor.

Connor, on the other hand, seemed more than relaxed as he glanced back over his shoulder as if he hadn't just been caught naked by his father.

"Get dressed," Monroe ordered. "You want to do more, then fine. Be ready in five minutes."


	9. Chapter 9

Connor stepped into his father's office and for once he stood at attention instead of sitting down and making himself at home. He didn't want to screw things up if his father was actually going to let him do something.

"There are rumours going around about a rebel base nearby," Monroe told him, getting straight to business. "This morning we got evidence to confirm it. A couple men spotted a few rebels out in the woods." His teeth gritted as he added, "Unfortunately, those men were too incompetent to capture them for questioning. One is dead and the other will be too soon, if he doesn't get his act together. You'd think he was working for the Patriots the way he let them escape."

"Where exactly do I come in?" Connor questioned when his father paused for a moment.

"I need someone I can trust in charge," Monroe responded. "I want you to take a group of men to search the area and figure out where the hell these Rebels are set up."

"And what if I find their base?" Connor asked.

" _When_ you find it, don't engage," his father told him. "Don't let them know you found them. Instead, bring your men back and tell me where they are." A sadistic smile spread across his lips as he added, "I have plans for how to wipe them out."

* * *

" _You want to do more."_ That was what had Monroe had said.

Charlie had been operating under the idiotic idea that Connor was only in the militia because Monroe was his father and that had decided matters for him. Clearly, she had gotten too close and let it cloud her vision. It shouldn't have surprised her that he wanted to be more involved in the militia. After all, he was heir to the throne, whether he got along with his father or not.

She had been stupid to assume that, just because he wanted to stay with her instead of go to work in the morning, he didn't really want to be a part of the militia. He could want to stay in bed with her for longer, regardless of his job satisfaction.

* * *

Connor heard a twig snap nearby and reached for his gun, in case the source was a rebel instead of one of his men, but before he had the chance to turn around someone had already grabbed him from behind. He jerked his head backwards and managed to hit his captor in the chin hard enough to knock the assailant back. The hold on Connor was released, but it didn't matter.

Another man had already emerged from the trees and had his gun pointed at Connor's head.

"Looks like it's our lucky day, Bruce," the man commented. "We didn't just find us a soldier. This here is Sebastian Monroe's son."

* * *

Miles was starting to get more than a little impatient as he waited for his niece to return. She was later than usual and all kinds of scenarios were running through his mind. Now that Monroe was back had he somehow figured out who she was? Had she decided to try something stupid and gotten herself killed? Had mini Monroe decided against letting her leave?

His head whipped up as a door opened, but he was not happy with what he saw. A couple of rebels whose names he hadn't bothered to learn were dragging a curly-haired militia member between them, each pulling the man by one arm. The soldier's hands were cuffed together in front of him, but his eyes were completely uncovered and he was clearly already surveying the inside of the building.

"Look at what we found out in the woods," one of them commented proudly.

"Tell me that isn't who I think it is," Miles pleaded.

"President Monroe's one and only son," the other boasted. "That makes him pretty valuable."

Miles ran a hand over his face in exasperation. How could he be working with such idiots?

"Wipe that stupid look off your face. How long do you think it is before Monroe comes looking for him?" He demanded. "It's only a matter of time until he finds us here and then we're all dead."

"So we trade him," the rebel responded with a shrug.

"You don't get it," Miles insisted. "You led his son here. You're letting him take a look around. If we send him back, we send back all the information you two idiots let him find out. There was already a plan in place that dealt with him and you two morons completely ruined it. We don't have leverage here. You just screwed us."

He had thought keeping Charlie's mission on a need-to-know basis had been the best idea. That way, if someone got captured they wouldn't be able to expose what Charlie was up to and get her killed. Clearly that had backfired.

Shit, Charlie still wasn't back yet. Why the hell wasn't she back if the Monroe kid had already been gone for long enough to get himself captured?

"Well don't just stand there," he barked out. "Get him in a cell."

Charlie stepped into the rebel base, apparently expecting Nora or her uncle to be waiting for her, as she complained, "I don't know how much longer my feet can take wearing heels every day."

Connor, who hadn't visibly reacted to a word since he had shown up, whipped his head around at the sound of her familiar voice. Once she noticed him there, Charlie froze a few steps inside the doorway. He held her wide-eyed gaze with a cold glare as his jaw visibly clenched.

Could they possibly have messed things up any worse? Now Monroe's kid not only knew where their base was, but even if they somehow managed to move somewhere else and get rid of him he still had seen Charlie there. Just fucking perfect.

"Get him out of here," Miles grunted out angrily.

Charlie ripped her eyes from Connor's then and turned towards her uncle to demand, "What is he doing here?"

She watched the pair of rebels drag Connor out of the room as he continued to glare her down. There went all of her hard work at getting him to trust her. How the hell had everything gone so wrong overnight?


	10. Chapter 10

"I want to talk to him," Charlie insisted.

"Absolutely not," Miles told her.

"But-"

"This is not up for debate," her uncle argued. "Enough damage has already been done."

"He already saw me," Charlie pointed out. "He knows I'm working with the rebels. It's not like there's anything left for him to figure out. I can help."

"I said no," Miles growled out.

He was more short-tempered than usual and Charlie knew that was not going to end well, especially for their latest prisoner.

"What are you going to do?" She asked in a voice that cracked just slightly.

Miles frowned. He knew that she wasn't going to like it, but he was hoping that the logical part of her would realize that it was the only real option he had.

"I've got to interrogate him," he responded in a pleading tone. "It's the only chance we have of getting anything useful out of him."

"And then what?" Charlie demanded.

"We can't send him back," he pointed out.

"Why not?"

"You know we can't," Miles argued. "They led him straight to our base without even a blindfold on. He knows I'm here. He's seen you here. We send him back and Monroe sends men who outnumber us and out-arm us here before we even have time to grab our crap and run."

"So let me talk to him," Charlie protested.

"No, Charlie!" Miles snapped. He stopped and cleared his throat before he more calmly told her, "We've been over this. You've been compromised. You are not going in there."

"I can make him trust me," she pointed out. "Or at least I can try. He's more likely to talk to me than anyone else here."

"I don't just mean your cover's compromised," Miles responded. "I don't need whatever feelings you have for him clouding your judgement and I'm not going to let you do something stupid and get yourself injured or him free."

"You don't trust me," she accused.

"I'm not willing to risk you," Miles corrected. "Not like this. I'm drawing the line. Now go put some real clothes on."

As he turned to leave the room, she called out after him, "He's in handcuffs. How is that a risk?"

* * *

Connor let out a laugh as the man from the doorway let himself into his cage. He was sitting in the back corner of his cell with his knees up and his head against the wall.

"Let me guess," he commented. "You're here to play bad cop and then you're going to send Charlie, if that's even her name, in to play good cop get answers."

"No," Miles responded bluntly. "There is no good cop and Charlie's not coming anywhere near you."

"It's a little late for that," Connor responded. "And clearly you've got your bad cop routine down to a tee. Well, excuse me for not quivering in my boots, but if you don't mind I'm just going to nap through the rest of your act."

He shut his eyes, but a small smirk crept onto his lips. Sure, it had been a slap in the face to find out that Charlie was working for the rebels, but he wasn't going to show it. He had the upper hand here and Miles had fully admitted it when he had first arrived. Besides, it wasn't like he had any information to give even if he was interrogated.

* * *

"I know that Miles sent you to babysit me," Charlie pointed out. She wasn't stupid. She knew that Nora wasn't just there to check on her and enjoy her company. The other woman had popped up mere minutes after Charlie had sat down on her bed and had not left her side since. "He thinks I'm going to let Connor out."

"I'm sure he doesn't think that," Nora told her. "He just doesn't want you there while he figures out what to do now that we have him locked in a cage."

"He's already decided," Charlie countered. "He decided the instant I walked through the door. He's going get whatever information he can out of Connor and then he's going to kill him and I don't get a say in the matter." Nora said nothing, but at least she didn't deny it. "I know Connor better than he does. I should be the one to talk to him."

"You really think that you can get him to tell you something?" Nora questioned.

"I don't know," Charlie admitted. "But I need to see him."

"I'll give you five minutes," her friend told her. "But you'd better use it wisely. There's no way you're going to get near him again."

* * *

Charlie stepped in the cage to find Connor sitting in the back corner of his cell with his knees up and the back of his head resting against the wall. He'd been there for less than half a day and already his face was bloodied and bruised. She tried not to dwell on what role her uncle may have played in that.

"What a surprise," Connor commented in a monotone voice as Nora shut the door behind Charlie. "Good cop is here."

She hesitated in the doorway for a moment, surprised by how cold he had become. She hadn't been expecting him to be happy to see her, but she had been expecting to be able to read him, at least a little. Instead, he was a completely closed book behind all that anger and she had no way of knowing what he felt for her underneath the sting of betrayal.

Nora's warning popped into Charlie's head and she realized she didn't have any time to waste standing there frozen, staring at him. She crossed the room quickly and crouched down beside him as she stuck a hand out to try to brush his hair out of the way to assess how deep a cut on his forehead was, but he quickly pulled away with a grunted out, "Don't touch me."

Charlie dropped her hand to her side and a frown crossed her features, but she didn't move away.

"I'm not going to tell you anything," he insisted. His eyes focused behind her at the corner of his cell and his voice came out a little quieter as he added, "So you may as well just go."

"I know you have no reason to believe me," she insisted, causing him to let out a huff that implied that was more than just an understatement. "But I didn't want you to get captured. This was never supposed to happen."

His gaze shifted back to her and his features softened as his eyes met hers. "I do believe you." Relief washed over her as a smile formed on her lips, but it was short-lived. "I know you didn't want me to get captured because now you can't convince me that you care about more than what information you can get out of me."

She flinched back from his sharp change in tone and a sinister smirk crossed his features. This was not the Connor she was used to. This was Monroe's son.

Charlie opened her mouth, but someone else's argument drowned hers out.

"What are you doing in here?" Miles demanded as he pushed the door open with a slight screech of metal on metal. "I thought I told you to get dressed."

Charlie rose to her feet and turned around to face her uncle. "Miles."

"Here we go," Connor commented in an unimpressed tone. "Now you're going to try to convince me that she came here of her own accord to help me and I should really trust her because she's willing to go against you. Well, it's not going to work."

Charlie took a step closer to Miles, half-shielding Connor from him.

"I just-"

"Not in here," Miles cut her off when he noticed the smug look on Monroe's kid's face. If they were going to argue about this, then there was no way in hell he was going to do it where the kid could listen in and pick up whatever he wanted in case he happened to get out of there. They were supposed to be getting information out of him, not the other way around.

Miles gestured with his chin towards the door and Charlie obediently followed him out without another word.

* * *

Once they were safely outside and far enough down the hallway, Miles paused and turned around to face Charlie.

"I thought he might talk to me if I was there by myself," Charlie defended herself.

"You're too close to this," Miles told her. "I know that you care about him and I can't risk him getting to you."

"I'm not an idiot, okay. I know what I'm doing," she responded.

He went to argue then shut his mouth and frowned. Hold on a second. She was wearing one of the dresses she wore to visit Connor, but it wasn't the one she had been wearing when she had come back. Was it?

"Did you change into that dress?" He demanded.

"Yes," Charlie told him matter-of-factly, but he cut her off before she could explain.

"Why the hell would you do that?" He growled out.

"Because Connor knows that I'm not really a prostitute, but no one else there does," she argued. "I can still go back one last time. There's no reason I should know Connor is missing. So I pretend I don't, I go back in there, and I find a way to get into that office so this whole thing hasn't been a complete waste of time."

"No." Miles insisted. "Absolutely not. There is no way in hell that you are going back there. It's too dangerous. We don't need to risk you getting captured too."

"But-" Charlie tried to argue.

"No!" Her uncle shouted, then took a breath to calm himself down a little. "I said no. You're not going."

"Fine," she told him in a defeated tone. "Alright. I'll go get changed."

Miles knew that she was still mad, but at least she was agreeing now. He would rather have her pissed than have her caught breaking into Monroe's office, especially right after Monroe's son went missing. Hopefully, she'd see the sense in it later.

* * *

Charlie felt bad going behind her uncle's back, but she couldn't let this opportunity slip away. He'd be thanking her tomorrow morning if all went as planned.

When she got to Monroe's headquarters, she was let inside just as if it were any other night. The guards outside Connor's door watched her go past without a word, but she thought they looked a little on edge. Maybe that was just because she was looking for that though.

It was hard to tell who knew about Connor's disappearance. Maybe he wasn't even expected back yet. Regardless, she was going to have to wait it out if she wanted to make it into Monroe's office. She'd already searched through all of Connor's room thoroughly enough that she doubted there was any chance of her finding something new and useful, so she headed over to the bed, much nicer than her own, and decided to try to get some sleep so that she would be ready when the opportunity arose. And if it didn't, then this time she was just going to have to create it herself.


	11. Chapter 11

Miles was already fed up enough with how Monroe's kid had practically turned into a freaking mute. Asking questions was getting him nowhere, but it was the only option he could see. He was going to make the kid talk, by any means necessary, because they needed to get something out of this shit show. Maybe if he managed to get something out of all of this Charlie would be a little more understanding. Probably not.

"Trust me, it is not in your best interest to withhold information from me," Miles insisted as he leaned over the prisoner.

* * *

Nothing was in Connor's best interest at this point and he was well aware of it. Even if he had any answers worth giving, it's not like it would matter. They weren't going to strike a deal with him for cooperating. He was the president's son. He knew where their base was. He'd seen their faces. He knew where Miles Matheson was and he knew Charlie had been snooping around undercover. He wasn't making it out of this unless the militia found him before the rebels had the chance to kill him. Best he could hope for was buying himself a little more time with his silence, instead of admitting that his father kept him so out of the loop that he had no information. If they believed that, they'd just dispose of him. Easy as that.

Connor gritted his teeth and gave Miles a defiant glare.

* * *

"Alright then," Miles responded as he pulled a knife out. He hated being this guy. He had thought that he'd left this person behind when he had left Monroe, but unfortunately things had not been quite that simple. Hopefully Charlie wouldn't find out about this.

"Miles!" Came an urgent voice from outside the cell.

Miles' jaw clenched as he slowly turned around to face the woman that had spoken. "What?"

"Charlie's gone," Nora told him.

"What do you mean she's gone?" Miles demanded, his fingers curling into a fist. His knuckles began to turn a bright white as he growled out, "I gave her _one_ instruction. Why couldn't she just listen for once?"

In his anger he had forgotten to censor himself in front of Connor, who was eagerly drinking in the drama.

"I wouldn't listen to you either if I was her," Connor pointed out with a shrug. Sure, now the kid's damn voice worked. "From what I've seen you just yell at her."

"Stay out of this!" Miles snapped at him before turning his attention back to Nora. "She's going to get herself killed. I told her not to go back there."

* * *

The smug smirk fell from Connor's lips. Hold on a second. She was going back? Why would she be doing that?

Nora glanced over Miles' shoulder at Connor. Miles seemed to take the hint since, without another word, he put his knife away, raked a hand through his hair, then let himself out of the cell.

Great, they just showed up and dropped that bomb on Connor and now they weren't even going to let him hear what they were going to do about it.

Whatever. He didn't care. It was probably all just an act anyways to get him worried about Charlie. But then how would that really help them any?

* * *

"We have to figure out a plan," Miles insisted as soon as they were a safe distance away from Monroe's kid. "We can't just leave her there. She's set at getting into Monroe's office no matter what. He is going to catch her and he is going to kill her." He ran a hand over his face. "I'm going to have to turn myself in. I don't see another option."

"Hold on. At least wait until tomorrow," Nora told him. "If we do anything now, we're just going to make sure her cover gets blown. Maybe she'll succeed. Or maybe she won't get into the office. Just wait and see if she comes back before you do anything drastic. I don't want anything happening to Charlie, but we can't afford risking her cover and we can't risk giving you back to Monroe either."

Miles didn't like it, but she was right. He was dangerous when he was with Monroe and showing up there would just guarantee her cover would get blown.

* * *

Charlie woke up to find that it was light outside, yet no one had disturbed her. They had to have noticed that Connor hadn't come back yet. Didn't they?

She got up from the bed and headed for the door. Maybe she would be lucky and with Connor gone they wouldn't need guards outside his room. She cracked the door open only to find that was not the case.

Any other day she would have given up and gone home, but she wasn't going to have a cover to try to keep if she didn't find a way to get into that office before she left. It had been risky enough coming here when she knew Connor was missing. If she kept coming back pretending like she expected him to be here, she was bound to raise suspicion.

One of the guards, who she had been staring at since she opened the door, seemed to get annoyed with her attention and for the first time since she had started coming there, he spoke to her. "What do you want?"

"I want to talk to Monroe." She told him firmly.

He let out a laugh at that and his partner's composure cracked slightly.

"I'm serious," Charlie insisted.

"And what exactly do _you_ have to talk to the president about?" The man asked as if he were humouring a small child.

"Connor didn't come back last night," she responded.

"I think the president has more to worry about than whether or not Connor showed up to pay you," the guard snorted out.

Charlie narrowed her eyes at him. She hated this. "He said he'd be back tonight. Something tells me Monroe would be worried about his son missing. I want to talk to him."

"Too bad," the guard responded. "You're not wasting his time."

"Don't you think he is going to be upset if he finds out you kept this from him?" Charlie demanded. "Or did he put you outside Connor's door so that you could guard his empty room while he's missing?"

* * *

Nora had taken over watching Connor's cell early in the morning. She had been sitting there, watching him as he didn't move or make a sound, for a few hours when Miles showed up looking disheveled. It was clear he had gotten little to no sleep the night before.

"She's not back yet," he told her. "She's always back by now. I'm going to get her."

If Charlie wasn't back yet, then Connor realized Miles Matheson must be right for the first time that he had ever heard of. He hated that he still cared, but he was worried about Charlie.

"So what exactly is your plan?" Nora questioned. "You're just going to turn back into General Matheson? What makes you think Monroe's even going to give us Charlie back when you go in there and tell him that she's important to you? He's just going to use that against you."

"He's not going to give you Charlie back," Connor insisted, trying to keep his tone indifferent. "And if she's not back, it's because he already figured out that she's one of you. You don't know how paranoid he is."

"Yes, I do," Miles grumbled out as he turned around to glare at the prisoner. "I know him. Better than anyone."

"No. You don't know," Connor argued. "You left before I found out about him and he's gotten a lot more paranoid since then. He doesn't trust anyone." Not even his own son. Even if Connor made it out of this, he was going to be screwed. His dad had finally trusted him to take on more responsibility and he had gotten himself captured immediately. He'd be lucky if his father even trusted him to walk around without armed guards on him at all times.

* * *

Charlie couldn't believe that she had actually succeeded at getting into Monroe's office. She wasn't sure how long it was going to take the guard, who was humouring her only for the sake of saving his own ass, to get Monroe. But for the time, being she was alone in his office.

She waited a few seconds after the guard was gone, then rose from her chair and rushed around the other side of the desk. Great. The drawers were all locked. This wasn't going to be as easy as it had first seemed, but at least if they were locked they probably held something important.

Charlie grabbed a letter-opener off the corner of the desk and got to work on the bottom drawer, where she would hide something if she was going to. It took a little longer than she would have liked, but eventually the drawer popped open.

At first it looked like it was nothing, just a bunch of boring papers. She began to pull those out, carefully stacking them on the floor next to her so that she would hopefully be able to put them back in place just how they had been before.

"What is this?" She whispered to herself as she pulled a gaudy metal pendant out of the drawer. What the hell reason could President Monroe have for keeping an ugly necklace locked in his desk?

She noticed a paper tucked to the side with a drawing of the thing on it and carefully pulled it out and looked it over. According to this, the pendant was supposed to turn the electricity on in an area for a limited amount of time if you pressed the button. She couldn't test it out though, lest it actually work and tip people off that she had found it.

Charlie didn't know how much time she had left and if this thing was real, which Monroe seemed to believe it was, then she needed to make sure he wouldn't find out that she had it. So with one last glance at the page, she stuck it back into the drawer and placed the other papers over top and slid the drawer shut.

Charlie stopped and considered where she was going to hide this clunky necklace on her scantily clad person, then settled on sticking it in the bottom of the cup of her bra. She repositioned her dress and hair and hoped that it wasn't visible to anyone else that there was something off about her chest.

Just as she rose to her feet, she heard the sound of footsteps coming from the hallway outside the door. She whipped around the desk and sat back down in the chair, only to realize that she still had the letter opener in her hand at the exact same moment that she heard the door open behind her. Oh no.

She slid the knife under the hem of her dress and shifted so that her arm laid over her lap in what she hoped was a casual pose and not one that made it obvious she was trying to conceal the handle of a weapon with her hand. Perfect. There was nothing suspicious about being found with a letter opener up your dress.

Just breathe, Charlie. Maybe he won't notice.

Yeah, like you're going to walk out with the pendant you stole out of his locked drawer and the letter opener you stole off of his desk both hidden on your barely covered person. That seems likely. She needed to come up with a new plan and now.

Monroe walked into the room, painfully slowly, and paused between her and his desk, leaning back against it as he crossed his arms over his chest and shifted a little to get comfortable. This position allowed him to hover over her, uncomfortably close, with the fabric of his pants just barely brushing against her knees. It was intimidating, but at least from this angle he wasn't likely to notice a lump on the bottom of her chest.

"What do you want?" He grunted out. "Do you know something about where Connor is? You better not be wasting my time."

Charlie's thumb ran along the handle of the letter opener as she debated her options.

Monroe leaned forward as he glared down at her. "Well?"

Charlie shifted a little forwards in her seat. "I just know he didn't come back last night." She locked eyes with him as she tried to slowly slip her weapon out from beneath the hem of her dress. "And he said he would." She shifted a little more, moving one of her legs just a hint in front of the other.

"I already know he's missing," Monroe grunted out. "I don't need you to tell me tha-"

His sentence fell short as she took the opportunity to spring up and stab him in the chest with the letter opener. Or at least, that was what she was going for, but the dagger didn't get quite as deep as she had been hoping it would before he managed to shove her off. Still, she felt a small sense of satisfaction that she had succeeded at wounding him, even as he called his guards into the room.

* * *

Monroe had thought she looked familiar before. One of the guards had referred to her as Charlie, but he'd figured that probably wasn't her real name. Prostitutes didn't tend to give out their real names often, but then again, Charlie wasn't exactly Candy or Jasmine. Something about those eyes had told him he'd seen her before though, and now with that defiant glare she gave him as the guards grabbed her by the arms it clicked and he realized why she looked so damn familiar. That look was all Rachel Matheson and he knew that Miles had joined the rebels, just like he knew that Rachel had a daughter about that age. He'd heard all about it before the blackout, back when they had all been friends.

"Hold on a second," he told the guards that had been dragging her out of the room.

They stopped and she huffed up at him, despite the fact that she clearly was not getting out of this. She was outmanned and out of her league, but he could almost admire her resilience.

"I know who you are," he told her as he took a step closer. He paused for a moment, letting the tension build and savouring the look of panic in her eyes. "You're Charlotte Matheson."


	12. Chapter 12

"I can't believe we're considering this," Miles muttered out.

"I know, but he has a good point," Nora responded. "It's less risky to give Monroe him than to give him you. Plus he can get Charlie out."

Miles had gone to Nora because he trusted her judgement over everyone else's in this place. She was the one he went to when he wasn't sure he was thinking straight. Well, her or Charlie.

"But will he?" Miles argued. "And what makes you so convinced he won't come back after us?"

"Because why would I want my dad to find you?" Connor piped up loudly, mildly annoyed that they were talking about this in front of him like he wasn't there, but glad that he wasn't completely cut out of the conversation. "He already talks about you too much. Why would I want Miles Matheson swooping back in and being given everything that is supposed to be mine? I'll get Charlie out, you'll stay away from my dad, and that'll be it."

Miles took a deep breath, then looked to Nora for her assessment. He didn't know whether to trust Connor or not, but he did trust her. Plus, in Charlie's absence, she was the one who knew the most about what had been going on with Connor. There would be know way for her to know anything for sure now that Connor knew Charlie wasn't really the perfect fantasy she had been pretending to be, but Nora's guess had to be better than Miles' would be.

Nora glanced between the men and hesitated for a moment before she told Miles, "From what I've heard, I don't think he'd let Charlie rot there. And she said he was bitter about not getting to do enough in the militia. What he's saying makes sense."

* * *

Connor pretended he hadn't heard that bitter comment. These people had no idea what it was like being promised everything and given nothing, but he bit his tongue. He didn't need to argue right now, he needed to get them to trust him. This may be his only chance to get out of this place.

"Let me go back and what's the worst case scenario?" He questioned. "I don't come back and then you're just as screwed as you would have been before? Then you can just as easily turn yourself in afterwards and move your base somewhere else. The militia's going to be looking for it either way."

Miles still didn't look impressed as he warned, "Alright. But you better not fuck this up."

* * *

Charlie was sitting in the cell she had been dragged off to as she thought to herself that this could not get much worse. She was already bound to be executed for trying to assassinate the president and she was sure her connection to Miles, which he had somehow figured out on his own, was only going to ensure that she'd be tortured and questioned thoroughly beforehand. On top of that, she still had this damn pendant stuffed in her bra, digging into her breast, and it was only a matter of time until Monroe would realize that she had broken into his desk drawer and taken it.

She would be lucky if they just executed her and put her out of her misery. Giving answers wasn't an option. Nothing good could come of him finding the rebels and Miles. It wasn't just her in trouble. She was putting Miles, who had told her not to come back here, at risk too. Why hadn't she listened to him?

* * *

When Connor returned home, he ignored the stares of the guards and headed straight for his father's office. He didn't bother to knock before he let himself in, clearly interrupting a heated conversation between Captain Baker and his father. Jeremy cut himself off mid-word as both men turned to look at Connor in surprise.

Monroe let out a sigh of relief as if he had been holding his breath since his son went missing. "Where were you?" He questioned. "And what happened to your face?"

"Rebels found me," Connor responded as he stepped further into the room. "I don't know where they took me. They came up behind me and hit me in the back of the head. By the time I woke up, they already had me locked in a cell."

"How did you manage to get away?" Jeremy asked slowly, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Connor glared over at him. Apparently his father's raging paranoia was spreading.

"I didn't," he responded bluntly. "They got rid of me when they realized I wasn't going to tell them anything. Must have realized it wasn't going to end well for them if they killed me or kept me. They blindfolded me and dropped me off at the same place they took me from." He forced his tone to turn light as he enquired, "So, did I miss anything exciting while I was gone?"

"Well, that prostitute you had coming over tried to kill me this morning," his father responded, his voice anything but light. "Turns out she's a Matheson."

Oh. That would explain why Miles had been concerned enough about her that he'd been willing to turn himself in. And why he'd bossed her around so much.

At least Connor didn't have to pretend to be surprised by the news.

"Things are looking up," his father continued. "You're back and now we've got a Matheson. Either she'll lead us to the rebel base and Miles, or else he'll show up to rescue her before we can make her talk. Either way, it's only a matter of time."

Of course. Once again, Miles was clearly his father's main priority.

"Great." Connor forced himself to look impressed, then made an excuse to leave the room as he announced, "I'm gonna go get cleaned up."

After Connor left his father's office, he went to change his clothes and replaced the gun that had been taken off of him by the rebels. Then, he had headed straight for the prison cells in search of Charlie.

There was one guard outside the prison section and one within, but Connor knew a thing or two about getting around guards. After all, he'd had to learn when he'd discovered that if his father got his way, he wouldn't be allowed near anything even remotely important.

The guard outside the door was hesitant, but Connor managed to talk his way in fairly easily. Threatening to tell his father about the guard getting in his way did the trick, although the man still looked a little unsure. Connor was known to find a way into places he wasn't supposed to enter, but the guard probably didn't anticipate why he was sneaking in there.

Connor knew the second guard wasn't going to be so easy, especially considering what he was there to do.

* * *

Charlie's head jerked up when she heard the echo of approaching footsteps. Someone was here to see her. Apparently Monroe wasn't planning on wasting any time. What if he had found out the pendant was missing?

She was surprised, but relieved, when it was Connor who entered the room. How the hell had he gotten out?

The guard outside her cell turned to see who was there. His hand was on his gun, but it remained in its holster when he saw that it was Monroe's son.

"What are you doing in here?" The guard questioned.

"She tricked me into trusting her and then tried to kill my father," he responded. His tone was harsh and his jaw was clenched as he glared at Charlie over the guard's shoulder. Apparently he was still angry at her, not that she could really blame him. "I have some questions for her."

That sounded ominous.

He glanced over at the guard disinterestedly on his way by, then hesitated just outside the cell. Charlie's heart was pounding in her chest.

* * *

Connor didn't say anything as he stared Charlie down, but she wasn't the one he was concerned with at the moment. Instead, he was focused on the guard behind him. When he heard footsteps behind him receding just a little, he decided this was as good of an opportunity as he was likely to get.

With his eyes still locked on Charlie's, he slowly moved his hand to his gun and pulled it from his holster. He broke eye contact as he whipped around and hit the guard hard in the back of the head. The man fell to the ground in a heap, then Connor crouched down at his side.

* * *

"Why did you do that?" Charlie asked as she stared at Connor's back.

He turned around and genuinely smiled at her for the first time since he had been taken by the rebels as he held up a ring of keys. There was a smugness to his tone as he told her, "Because he has these."

"You're helping me?" She questioned in a surprised tone. It didn't make any sense to her after everything he had found out about her, and especially after she had tried to kill his father, but she was grateful for any help she could get.

"I guess I am."

* * *

Connor still didn't trust her, but he did care about her enough that he wasn't going to sit around and let her get tortured and executed. This might come back to bite him in the ass, but he needed to help her.

He stepped forward and unlocked the door to her cell.

* * *

Charlie hesitated for a moment, still not entirely sure this wasn't a trick, then decided that she didn't have time to waste on questioning whether or not this was a trap. Either way, it was her best bet.

She stepped out of the cell, then crouched down to grab the gun off of the guard. When she moved to drag him back into the cell, Connor caught on and grabbed the man's legs.

"Why are you helping me?" She asked, although she wasn't sure making him question it was the wisest decision.

"My options are pretty limited," he told her, but didn't explain any further. "There's another guard at the door. I'm guessing getting past him on the way out isn't going to be quite as easy as getting in was."

"Knocking him out should do the trick," Charlie pointed out. It was clear that he was capable of it and, even if he wasn't, she was more than willing to do it.

"Yeah, but it won't take long before someone notices he's gone," Connor responded. "Which means you're going to have to haul ass."

* * *

Connor knocked the guard at the door out just as he had done to the last one, then they stepped out into the hallway.

Charlie went to turn left, but he grabbed her arm to stop her. If she went that way, she was bound to get caught by one of the guards. He knew a thing or two about getting in and out undetected and he had a better plan.

"This way," he told her as his hand slid down to her wrist. When she hesitated he added, "You do want to get out. Don't you?"

She followed him then and he led her through a doorway near the end of the hallway.

"No one else ever comes in here," he pointed out. He had known that odds of them running into someone in here were next to nothing. The room had been covered in dust when he had arrived and hadn't been cleaned since. He walked across the room, then told her, "Which means no one else has figured out that the bars on this window aren't really attached anymore."

He opened the window and pushed the cage of bars out of the way, then turned back around to face her.

* * *

She didn't know why he had helped her, but she was thankful that he had, even if his help made her feel even guiltier about how they both knew she had used him.

Charlie hesitated in front of the window for a moment, then asked, "Do you still not want me touching you?"

He paused, then after a moment's consideration told her, "I'll allow it."

She stepped forward and brought a hand to his cheek as she pulled him in for a kiss. It wasn't a performance like her usual lusty kiss, but a thank you for getting her out of there.

When she pulled back, she took one last look, trying to memorize the details of his face. Then she turned and climbed out the window.

She had barely stood up on the other side when Connor began to climb out after her.

"You're coming with me?" She asked, unable to hide her shock.

* * *

He made it through the window and turned to face her, then asked, "What? Do you think I'm going to stick around after this? My dad's bound to know I helped you and I don't plan on being here for the lecture when he finds out." Besides, he'd be lucky if he was trusted with anything after this.

She blinked over at him, clearly startled by the information. After a dragged out silence, she finally told him, "You can't come back to the rebel base with me."

"I know."

That much was obvious. Connor had thought about running away with Charlie before, but that had just been fleeting daydreams. He'd never thought he would end up in a situation where it would be his best option.

"But you don't have to go back there either," he pointed out.

* * *

Charlie knew that odds of Miles reacting well to her bringing Connor back were bad, especially since her uncle hadn't been willing to keep Connor alive last time. Besides, even if the people close to her were alright with having the president's son there, the other rebels wouldn't just sit back and let him stroll around their base freely.

"Actually, I do," Charlie argued. Then she stopped to think about it for a moment.

Of course she couldn't just disappear on the people she cared about without a trace or so much as a goodbye. But she'd stolen from Monroe and tried to assassinate him. He was going to come looking for her and she couldn't afford to let him get the pendant back if it really did what the paper had said it did. Maybe it was best for her to leave, at least for a little while.

Her tone softened slightly as she added, "At the very least, I need to get some real clothes and tell people I'm still alive."

The corner of his lips twitched upwards as he commented, "I know. You're sick of those heels and could use some real shoes. Right?"

She was glad to have a little of the tension broken as she let out a quiet laugh.

All of that charm she had grown used to returned his tone as he asked her, "So, what do you say? Want to run away with me?"


	13. Chapter 13

Charlie stopped just before the clearing outside the rebel base and turned towards Connor.

"You should wait here," she told him. As almost an afterthought, she teased, "And try not to get captured this time."

"Right," he responded as he leaned back against the trunk of a thick tree. "Because I can't wait to go back after the hospitality last time."

"Hey, your place wasn't that great either," Charlie pointed out. She didn't mean only during her last visit.

* * *

Charlie entered the rebel base through a different entrance than usual. It was the one she had been using to sneak back into the building ever since she had grown sick of being cooped up and had first started her extracurricular outings.

The rusted metal door was at the back of the building, where plants had overgrown everything. The entrance was hidden between a tall tree, with branches that threatened to grow through the windows at any moment, and a faded old dumpster. The hallway it opened into was one down from Charlie's bedroom, so she should be able to get in and out undetected.

It wasn't that she didn't want to see her loved ones. She really did, but she knew that they were not likely to agree with her decision and she was afraid she could be talked out of it. She didn't want to put a target on their backs and she needed to keep what she had found a secret if she wanted to protect it.

Charlie pulled the heavy door open and stepped inside, stopping to remove her heels. She padded down the hallway as quietly as she could, shoes in hand, and carefully peeked around the corner.

Thankfully, there was no sign of anyone, so she headed straight for the third door on the left and softly closed the door behind her.

The first thing she did was grab a piece of paper to write a note. It took her a few minutes to find the right words, but she still hadn't heard any noises nearby when she had finished.

Next, she grabbed her clothes and threw them on the bed. She was relieved to get the pendant away from her chest as she pulled it out of her bra. She wrapped it in one of her tank tops, then slipped that shirt inside another before stuffing the whole bundle into the bottom of her backpack.

After setting aside something to change into, she got to work packing what she could fit into her bag, including the gun she had taken off of the guard.

* * *

Rachel walked into the room and paused with her weight against the door frame. Her arms wrapped around herself as she pointed out, "Charlie still isn't back."

Miles frowned. If it was up to him he already would have gone to get her. Hell, if it was up to him she wouldn't have gone back there in the first place.

"Well, I don't see why we trusted Monroe's son to get her back," Danny complained. "I mean, the guy probably went back to throw her under the bus even more. For all we know, he's the reason she got caught."

"I don't think he'd do that," Nora disagreed. "From what I heard, he was pretty wrapped around her finger. If we're lucky, he's telling the truth and went back there to protect her."

Danny was sick of hearing about Charlie and Connor. "Or he went back to blow her cover because he's bitter that Charlie was just pretending to like him."

"It doesn't matter," Miles grunted out. "I don't care why he went back. We gave him enough time to get her back and he didn't. I'm turning myself in before anything worse happens to her."

* * *

Charlie had been gone for what felt like an eternity and Connor was starting to wonder whether she was really coming back or not. Was this all just a trick? Was she going to leave him out in the woods by himself? Or, worse, was she going to send some rebels back out to take him captive again? He would be a real idiot if he let himself believe that at least part of what they had was real, only to end up saving her from the same fate he ended up throwing himself right back into.

He was finally dragged out of his thoughts and stopped dwelling on everything that could go wrong as Charlie reemerged from the treeline she had disappeared behind earlier. This time, she was dressed in a comfortable looking pair of dark jeans that clung to her form, knee-high leather boots, a faded grey tank top, and a light brown leather jacket over top. A backpack and quiver of arrows were strapped to her back and she held a bow at her side. It was by far the most clothed he had seen her.

"So this is how you usually dress," he commented.

"Sorry," she told him as a smile played at her eyes. "I know you like the skimpy dresses, but they're not exactly practical for life on the run."

"No," he told her, then cut himself off. A smile crossed his lips as he told her, "I mean, yes, I am a definite fan of the skimpy dresses. But this is good too."

* * *

Nora fell back on her bed and let out a sigh. She needed a little alone time to process the fact that Miles had gone back to Monroe and the militia.

How had they gotten back to this? She liked who Miles was now, grumpiness and all, a lot more than she had liked who he was around Monroe. She knew that Miles felt the same and hated voluntarily going back to Monroe and the person he used to be. She should have pushed harder to take the mission instead of Charlie. Tattoo be damned.

She could have gone instead. If Connor had asked, she could have said the tattoo was old. From before the rebels. They wouldn't be in this mess then.

As she turned her head to look out the window, something caught her eye. The corner of a piece of paper was just barely peeking out of the pocket of her jacket that was draped over the back of a chair.

Curiosity got the best of her, so she rose to her feet and pulled the paper out. She unfolded it and recognized Charlie's writing. Oh no.


	14. Chapter 14

Nora read through the letter as fast as she could, then read it back over again.

_You don't need to worry about me. I made it out and it was worth the trip back. I got into Monroe's office and stole something pretty important. When I left, he still hadn't figured out that I had it. It's only a matter of time before he finds out and comes looking, so I think it's safer for everyone if it just disappears and I disappear with it for a while too._

_Connor's with me, but you don't have to worry about what he's going to do with what he knows about the base anymore. Monroe found out who I was on his own and Connor helped me break out. He doesn't know what I took and I'm going to keep it that way. The less people who know means the less people Monroe can torture the answer out of. That's why I'm leaving this note for just you. Don't tell anyone about what I took. It'll only make things worse if the militia gets to them. Just tell them that I'm safe and I needed some time away to figure things out._

_Tell my family I love them and I'll miss them. Tell Miles I'm sorry for not listening to him and, if you can, convince him not to be upset with me. I hope you'll at least understand and I'll miss you too._

_\- Charlie_

Nora let out a sigh. Sure, she was happy that Charlie had managed to turn her mission into a success and had gotten out safely, but she wasn't thrilled that she had been left behind to pick up the pieces with Charlie and Miles both gone.

How the hell was she going to tell Rachel and Danny?

* * *

Miles slowly strolled up to the entrance of militia headquarters, armed with only a sword that remained sheathed in his weapons belt, and gave a nonchalant glance at the armed guards outside.

One's eyes darted towards the other, as if looking for confirmation that what he suspected was true.

"I'm here to turn myself in," Miles told them as he stopped in front of them. "So which one of you wants the credit for bringing Miles Matheson in?"

* * *

"I have good news and bad news," Nora stated as she took a seat across from Rachel at the table where she and Danny had been sitting together, doing little more than worrying and fretting about their family members. "The good news is that Charlie got out and she's safe. Or at least as safe as any of us can ever really be."

Rachel's features seemed to microscopically relax, but her gaze was still grim as she added, "But Miles just handed himself over to Monroe for nothing."

"There's that," Nora agreed. "But that's not all."

"So where is Charlie if she got away?" Danny interjected.

"That's the part I'm trying to tell you." Nora hesitated for a moment before adding, "She's happy and safe, but she also isn't here. I found a note in my room. Apparently Connor helped her escape after Monroe found out who she was. She's taking off with him, but the note doesn't say where. It just said to tell you guys not to worry about her and that she loves you."

Somehow it didn't feel like she was really delivering good news. Sure, Charlie was alive and well. But she had also run off with Monroe's son without even saying goodbye in person. Plus, Monroe wasn't just going to let her get away with Connor and whatever she took. If what Charlie stole was really as important as she believed it to be, he was bound to have all his resources after her.

* * *

"So where exactly are we going?" Charlie questioned, if only to break the silence. They had been walking in one direction through the trees for what felt like hours and Charlie was none too eager to be out in the open anywhere near the rebel base or militia headquarters.

"Why?" Connor asked her in a teasing tone. "Don't you trust me?"

"I kind of have to after you helped me escape. Don't I?" She insisted, not entirely joking. "Unless you already changed your mind and decided to turn me back in."

"You've gone back and forth between your base and Independence Hall a lot more times than I have," he pointed out. "Somehow I doubt leading you back without you noticing would work."

"Well wherever we're going better be far away," she commented. "I wasn't that fond of getting caught last time and somehow I doubt it would be any more pleasant the second time around."

"Oh, it's definitely far," Connor responded. "Especially on foot."

"I'll just be glad once we get a couple of days ahead of them," Charlie insisted. "The longer we move, the wider their search radius becomes and the more likely we are to actually stay off their radar."


	15. Chapter 15

Miles had barely been escorted through the double doors of the office and Monroe hadn't even fully looked up from the report he was reading yet as Miles demanded, "Where is she?"

Monroe stood up behind his desk and stared at him in complete silence for a long moment before his brain seemed to wrap around the idea that he was not in fact hallucinating. A smug smirk formed on his lips, then faltered as his eyes gazed past his old friend to the pair of guards still lingering in the doorway.

"Leave us," he insisted coldly.

Miles turned and watched them go, then once they were alone he settled himself into the chair across from Monroe's desk. He leaned far back in the chair, legs spread out in front of him as he glanced up at Monroe who was still standing. Sure, the other man might have the advantage of knowing where Charlie was, but Miles wasn't about to let him think he had the upperhand in the situation. Miles wasn't just any other prisoner. He was there of his own free will and he knew just how to get under Monroe's skin.

"Where is she?" He repeated again when the other man sat down, but did not say anything.

"Where is who?" Bass challenged. Miles could see through the smugness his old friend was projecting. Something was off.

"Cut the crap. I know Charlie came back here, even though I told her it would be a mistake," Miles told him. "You don't want her, you want to get to me. Well, I'm here. So let her go and I'll stay. Join back up and everything."

"She stabbed me in the chest," Monroe pointed out dryly.

"You don't look all that injured to me," Miles countered in an unsympathetic tone. It wasn't like Monroe didn't deserve what had come to him. If he was even telling the truth.

"She used a letter opener," Bass admitted. "You train her to be that reckless?"

Perfect. He had told her going back was too dangerous, so she'd gone anyways and tried to assassinate the president with office supplies. That sounded like her, alright. Apparently Monroe was telling the truth.

Miles shrugged nonchalantly. He'd had enough of the small talk. "I want to see her."

"She's not here."

"She didn't come back this morning. Besides, you just told me she tried to kill you," Miles pointed out. "There's no way you let her just walk away after that. Especially if you figured out who she was."

"That wasn't all that hard when she was shooting me Rachel's crazy eyes and coming after me," Bass countered. "She could have at least picked a different name."

"So you did know," Miles pressed. "Then where do you have her locked up?"

"Nowhere anymore," Monroe responded in an irritated tone.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Monroe glanced towards the door, although there had not even been so much as the sound of footsteps coming from the hallway, before his eyes darted back to Miles. That was not a good sign.

"I had her in a cell, but she got out," Monroe admitted.

"Call your men off and I'll stay then."

"What men?" Monroe questioned. If Miles didn't know better, he would think that the other man was genuinely confused.

"The ones you have out looking for her," Miles responded matter-of-factly.

"Connor disappeared with her," Monroe responded. "I'm not sending my men after him. I need to keep this contained, not advertise the fact that I can't even keep my own kid in line."

"Right, because forbid anyone find _you_ unfit to lead the republic," Miles muttered sarcastically.

Monroe shot him a glare, but did not protest against the remark.

"So what's your brilliant plan then?" Miles questioned.

"I'm going to track them down myself," Bass responded as if it were obvious. "And you're going to help me."

Miles let out a dry laugh. "Sure. And what exactly makes you think there's any chance in hell I would help you get Charlie back?"

"You want her back too, don't you?" Monroe questioned. "We go searching for them together, then I bring Connor back and Charlie goes free."

It would be easier to find the pair if they worked together, but there was no way Miles was going to agree that easily. Especially to those terms.

"I help you and when we find them, you take Connor and I go back home with Charlie," Miles insisted. "You leave her alone and we both pretend like none of this ever happened. Those are my terms, take them or leave them."

Monroe's jaw clenched as he mulled the offer over. "Fine, deal."

* * *

"Wait here."

"Like hell I'm waiting here," Monroe complained. "I'm not staying here so that you can run off and never come back."

"Well, I'm not walking you right into the rebel base either," Miles insisted. He didn't trust Monroe this close to the base, let alone knowing its exact location. "So stay here while I check if they're with the rebels or come with me and get yourself killed."

He didn't wait to hear Monroe's response. Miles knew him and he knew that, stupid as he might be sometimes, Monroe wasn't about to follow him into a building full of rebels. Maybe he was obsessed with taking the rebels out, but he wasn't going to get himself taken out by them so that he wouldn't be able to get his son back, even if Connor was there.

Miles had a bad feeling about this. If it was just Charlie missing, he would have all the confidence in the world that she was waiting for him back at the base, probably planning some ridiculous attempt to break him back out of Monroe's clutches. But with Connor gone too that wasn't likely. The rebels hadn't exactly been friendly to him in their last encounter and even if Charlie had developed feelings for the Monroe kid, she had to be smart enough to not bring him back. Which meant that they were probably God knows where.

Maybe if he was lucky she would have come back to say her goodbyes and still be there. He couldn't imagine her running off without letting her family know she was okay and having some big long, sappy goodbye with Danny.

* * *

"Miles?"

Nora jumped out of her seat at the sight of him. He was walking with a sense of purpose and it only took a glance between her and the door to tip her off that he wanted to talk to her alone. Now.

"How did you get back here without Monroe?" Nora questioned as soon as they were alone in a room at the end of a deserted hallway.

Miles reached past her to lock the door. This was serious.

"I didn't."

It took a moment for the words to register before she demanded, "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means I left him in the woods half a mile back," he responded matter-of-factly.

"Why?"

"Because Charlie ran off with mini Monroe and now I'm stuck looking for them so that he can take his kid and we can get Charlie back," he responded in an exasperated tone. "Did they turn up here?"

Somehow Nora doubted that Monroe would really let Charlie go that easily, especially with Miles at her side, if what she had taken was important as she had thought. But if Miles was back working with Monroe, even in this capacity, Nora wasn't sure it was a good idea to tell him about that. She didn't know what Charlie had taken, just that the girl had told her not to share that information. That meant not telling Miles so that he couldn't interrogate Monroe to find out what it was or bargain to give it back in exchange for Charlie's protection.

"No," she responded. "I mean, yes. But no one saw them. Charlie left me a note. It said she's sorry she went back, but she's leaving with Connor for a while and she doesn't want you to worry. I don't think she'd want you looking for her."

"Monroe's going after her and Connor either way," Miles pointed out. "So either I go with him and make sure she comes back or else she probably ends up locked up until I go back to take her place again. At least if I go I can make sure he doesn't do anything to her."

"I don't like who you turn into when you're with him," Nora told him sternly.

"Neither do I, but there isn't much of an option," he responded. "And if this works out, then I'm coming back here. Besides, even if I slip up and start falling for his crap again, there's no way Charlie'll let me turn back into the guy I used to be without putting up a giant fight."

"I'm coming with you," Nora insisted. "I can help find Charlie and that way you won't be alone with him."

"No."

"I care about Charlie too," she argued. "You can't just bench me on this."

"I'm not benching you," he corrected. "Someone needs to stay here and keep the rebels from falling apart. You're the best person for the job. People trust your judgment and we both know you're capable of leading them."

"So I'm just supposed to stay here and clean up the mess you and Charlie left behind?" She challenged.

"No, you're going to hold down the fort," he responded. "And prevent the kind of stupidity that clearly I couldn't."

She hesitated for a moment. "Fine, but you have to tell Danny and Rachel."

There was no way she was going to be stuck being the bearer of bad news twice in one day. It had been bad enough telling them Charlie had run off with Monroe's son, there was no way she was going to be the one to tell them that Miles was doing the same with Monroe.

"Where are they?"

* * *

"Took you long enough," Monroe complained when Miles returned with a bag slung over his shoulder.

"That just means you had more time to figure out where we're looking first," Miles retorted.

"How am I supposed to know?" Monroe demanded. "They're running away from me. Why would they go somewhere I could guess? It's up to you to figure it out. Where would Charlie go to hide out?"

* * *

"I know it isn't exactly what you're used to," Charlie commented as she threw a blanket down on the hay that was spread over the floor of the abandoned barn they were squatting in for the night. "But at least we might manage to get some sleep without anyone finding us."

"It can't be worse than it smells, right?" Connor questioned with a small smile that made Charlie feel a little uneasy. All day while they had been traveling something had felt off. It hadn't been anything either of them had said, but maybe that was just it.

After all of the revelations of the last couple of days, even while they were running off together, they hadn't really talked about any of it yet. All of this was new ground and she wasn't sure whether it would be worse to keep pretending like nothing had happened or to bring it up.

* * *

As they lay down, Connor quickly discovered that his hope that it wouldn't be totally uncomfortable had been in vain. The ground was hard and uneven while the hay poked through the blanket and his clothes to make his skin itch.

Charlie pulled her second blanket over them as he silently wished to himself that he had been smart enough to bring a change of clothes. A suit wasn't exactly the clothing he wanted to be sleeping in, but if he had worn something else or grabbed a bag of clothing people would have gotten pretty suspicious pretty fast and he probably would not have succeeded at helping Charlie break out.

Still, it was going to be an even longer trip when the only things he had managed to bring with him were his gun and the clothes on his back.

* * *

They had been lying there for mere moments when Charlie rolled onto her side to try to minimize the amount of skin that the hay had access to. Apparently Connor took that as some kind of signal, since seconds later his lips were covering hers.

She kissed back, for a moment, until his hand slid under her shirt. When she froze, he pulled back and gave her a confused look. The hurt was evident in his eyes.

"Right," he muttered as he rolled back to his side of the blanket. "Stupid assumption."

Charlie felt both guilty and irritated as hell. His back was to her and Charlie wanted to roll her eyes and turn her own back on him to get some much needed sleep, but that wasn't going to get them anywhere.

"I just think that we should get some sleep," she insisted. "We're going to have to get moving at the crack of dawn if we want to keep off of the militia's radar and I-"

He was lying on his back again as he cut her off to insist, "It's fine. I get it. That was all just part of the job for you. You're right, we should get some sleep."

Her jaw clenched as she glanced over at him, but his eyes were shut. It was clear that he wasn't really asleep, but if he wanted to pretend, that was fine by her. The middle of the night wasn't exactly the greatest time to start a fight anyways and it had been a long day for them both. Maybe if they slept on it, things would look up in the morning. Or maybe they would just have one more thing to add to the list of things they weren't talking about.

She shut her eyes and attempted to fall asleep. When Connor spoke up again, she convinced herself that she had been just about to fall asleep if he had not.

The tense silence was broken as Connor, slightly quieter than usual, asked, "So do you sleep with all the guys you're trying to get information out of? Or is that just under special circumstances?"

There was a brief pause as Charlie wondered whether or not to dignify the question with a response.

"I wasn't lying when I said you were my only client," she responded in an annoyed tone. "Is that really what you think of me?"

"Well, how was I supposed to know?" He questioned. "All I really know about you is that you're a rebel, somehow related to Miles Matheson, and you tried to kill my dad."

The subject had finally been broached, but Charlie felt dread only instead of relief.

"Miles is my uncle. And it's not like I really know all that much about you," she countered.

"That's because any time I started talking too much, you got pissed off," he pointed out.

"Because you were making things needlessly complicated," Charlie insisted. "I wasn't supposed to feel anything towards you or the job, but you kept on going and screwing that up."

"Sorry my falling for your act inconvenienced you," he responded dryly.

There was a long silence before she explained, "Yes, I'm a rebel And, yes, I tried to kill your dad. But in case you haven't noticed, he's kind of a dick and he's ruining people's lives. I was going to get caught anyways, so I had to take the chance."

"Your uncle isn't exactly a prize either," Connor pointed out. "Do you always let him boss you around like that? You do realize it isn't normal for an uncle to force his niece to sleep with someone to gather information, right?"

"Miles didn't make me do anything," she argued. "It was my idea. We were passing by, found out you were in that brothel, and we knew it was too good of an opportunity to throw away. I suggested using you to get access to the building and Nora volunteered to take my place, but she's got an American flag tattoo that would have given her away. It was my plan and I chose to go through with it."

"How do I know you're not just keeping up the act so I don't go back and tell my dad where your rebel base is?" He challenged.

"I guess you don't," she responded honestly. "But how do I know you haven't already told him where it is and aren't just distracting me so that I can't find out or warn anyone?"

"I guess you don't," he repeated.

It was quiet again, but neither shut their eyes or moved at all.

"Do you think I'm just tricking you?" She questioned.

Charlie studied Connor's features as he considered for a moment.

"No," he admitted with a hint of hesitation in his tone. "But I'm going to look really stupid falling for the same act twice in a row if you are."

She didn't think he was acting either.

"We kind of have to trust each other now. Don't we?" She insisted.

"I guess so," Connor mumbled in agreement, then rolled towards her onto his side and bent his arm under his head as a makeshift pillow.

She considered rolling away from him again, but decided against distancing herself. There was no point trying to pretend like she wasn't attached anymore. They'd both thrown everything they knew away. Admitting that she liked sharing a bed with him wasn't going to be the end of the world.

Charlie shifted to get comfortable, or as comfortable as one could get lying on a pile of scratchy hay with only a thin blanket for protection. He didn't open his eyes as she moved slightly closer to him, but she could have sworn she saw the corner of his lip twitch up for half a second.

She watched him for a moment to see if he would move again. His expression did not change and his eyes did not open.

Charlie stretched her neck to press her lips against his in a chaste kiss.

She too closed her eyes then and a moment later she heard Connor murmur, "Good night, Charlie." There was a hint of amusement in his tone as he added, "If that really is your name."


	16. Chapter 16

Connor woke up with a stiff back and frowned as he saw the sunlight streaming through the window, illuminating the dirt flowing through the air. His whole body was sore and he had barely slept the night before. Charlie was still asleep beside him.

He sat up, then tapped her on the shoulder. "Charlie."

Her arm instinctively moved to rub her eyes as she murmured, "Huh?"

"It's light out."

* * *

Oh, that's right. For a moment Charlie had somehow managed to forget that she had run off with Monroe's son.

"We should get moving then," she insisted, although she did not want to get up yet. It had been too long since she had been on a mission that had taken her more than half a day's walk away from the rebel base. She had gotten spoiled, used to staying in the same place at night and having time to rest. Her body hadn't entirely adjusted to all this walking again yet.

"That's the idea," he agreed.

* * *

Miles and Monroe were having no luck finding Charlie and Connor, or even the slightest hint at where they might have gone.

"Where next?" Monroe demanded.

"I don't know," Miles responded in an exasperated tone. "Have you got any bright ideas?"

Apparently he did not, since instead of answering he complained, "We're just wasting time while they get further away."

"Yeah, well, Charlie isn't stupid," Miles insisted. "No one's seen them and we're not going to find anything looking nearby. If she doesn't want to be found, we're not going to be able to figure out where they went just by asking if people have seen either of them. We have to figure out where they went, but that could be anywhere."

"That's just great," Monroe grumbled out.

Miles didn't know why he was helping Monroe. All the guy was doing was bitching and moaning because Miles didn't magically know where they had run off to. It was like he was supposed to have a tracking device implanted in Charlie's neck that somehow worked in the blackout. Hell, if Monroe had the ability to stick people with tracking devices, he would have stuck one in Connor by now. Miles probably would have gotten one too by the time he had walked out of Monroe's office.

"Just pick a direction," Miles ordered with a heavy sigh. He was sick of getting the blame when their long-shot ideas of where Charlie and Connor might have gone did not work out. "Which way would your kid go?"

"I don't know," Bass admitted. "They had to have stopped at your base though, so let's just keep heading the same direction past it and see if we can find any sign that anyone's been in the area."

If Charlie was there, she would have been able to find some kind of track to follow and find out which way they went. Then again, if Charlie was there, Miles wouldn't be putting up with Monroe's bitching and wouldn't be stuck helping him.

* * *

Walking through layer after layer of trees was already becoming more than monotonous, but Charlie had insisted that they stay off of the roads. She was right, of course. They were way more likely to be discovered by militia or bothered by someone else while walking out in the open roadways, where anybody else could show up, than in the middle of the woods. Still, the walk was definitely getting dull and Connor's legs were not happy with the amount of walking they had been doing.

He and Charlie had been traveling in near silence for most of the day and the longer it was quiet, the more pressure there was to find some interesting topic to break the silence. Connor didn't just want to fill it with something that would lead to a one-word answer and an even thicker silence. He was so busy trying to craft the perfect conversation starter that he was startled when she broke the silence for him.

"Are you sure we're heading the right direction?"

It wasn't the most brilliantly thought out ice breaker, but Connor jumped at the opportunity.

"Pretty sure," he answered. "Usually I'm on roads and not on foot, but I know how to get there."

"So you've gone wherever it is a lot then?" She asked, sounding eager to have any information about where they were going.

"You could say that," he agreed. "I know someone who will be happy to take us in."

"How do you know that you can trust whoever it is?" Charlie questioned.

"I knew people before I found out I was Monroe's son, you know," he pointed out. "Trust me. We'll be safe."

"What makes you think your dad won't come looking for you there?" She questioned. Her skepticism was written plainly in the furrow of her brow.

"I know he won't," Connor told her. His father never traveled with him when he went back and Connor was confident that wasn't going to change now.

"So am I at least allowed to have a vague idea of where we're going then?" Charlie questioned.

"Jasper, Indiana."


	17. Chapter 17

The sky was beginning to dim and Charlie and Connor had been walking for days without running into anyone when Connor pointed out in an amused tone, "You know, you sure hog the blankets a lot more since we left."

"Your bed had a lot more blanket per side," Charlie countered. "And we weren't sleeping outside and in run-down barns back then."

"I guess that's reasonable," he allowed.

"Plus," she added as her face cracked into a smile. "We're in a little too deep now for me to have to worry about not tossing and turning and pulling all of the blankets to my side. Unlike when I was trying to come back and stay over to scope your place out, you're kind of stuck sleeping with me now. Even if I do hog the blankets."

"So does that mean you aren't worried about keeping me happy anymore?" He asked in a teasing tone, although the question did weigh on his mind.

"I care whether you're happy or not," Charlie responded, then shrugged. "It just isn't my first priority anymore. I can disagree with you and act how I want instead of trying to figure out how you want me to behave at any given time."

"No offence, but I'm not convinced you were that great at it even back then," he countered with a low chuckle.

"What? You weren't happy enough?" She challenged. Her eyebrow raised as if to ask what he was doing with her now if her service had not been satisfactory back then.

"I was plenty happy with you," he informed her. "But for someone who was trying so hard to act how you thought I wanted you to, you sure could be mean."

She rolled her eyes at that. "Shut up."

"No, seriously," he insisted with a laugh. "You were downright cold when you stormed out and-"

He cut himself off mid-sentence as the sound of screaming echoed from the distance.

Charlie rushed forward, seemingly out of instinct, as Connor's hand fell to the holster of his gun. He followed Charlie as she broke into a run, then stopped suddenly when they were close enough for the voices to become coherent.

She slid her bow from her back and grabbed an arrow before slowly advancing forward again. Connor pulled his gun out as he stepped carefully behind her.

They were close enough to see what was going on now, but those involved in the scene before them were too preoccupied to look through the trees in their direction.

Connor stared in surprise as a militia soldier grabbed a crying young woman by the hair and pulled her back against his chest. The girl tried to run away, but the man kept one arm wrapped tight around her waist as the other held a knife against her neck.

"I think we should keep her," the soldier insisted. "What do you think?"

He glanced over his shoulder at his partner who was watching the scene unfold from atop his horse with an amused smile on his lips.

"I say we could use the entertainment," he agreed.

An older man, possibly the girl's father, was crying too as he pleaded, "You don't have to do this! _Please_."

Connor didn't recognize either of the soldiers, but that didn't mean they wouldn't know who he was and they couldn't afford to be found like this.

"We should go," he said under his breath, although his hand remained on his gun and he did not tear his eyes away from the strangers as he said it.

Charlie didn't react to his words. Maybe she hadn't heard him, or maybe she just wanted to pretend he hadn't said it.

He turned to look at her as she let an arrow loose.

The soldier fell from his horse with an arrow in his shoulder as Charlie stepped into the clearing with another arrow already drawn. Apparently, she didn't have a good enough shot because she kept her weapon aimed at the other soldier, but did not let the arrow fly.

Connor followed her and pointed his gun at the other soldier, who was returning to his feet and cursing as he inspected the arrow stuck through his shoulder.

"Let her go," Charlie ordered.

"You think I'm going to take orders from _you_?" The man questioned with a laugh. "You don't even know how to aim that thing."

"That was a warning shot," she insisted. "The only one either of you is going to get, so let her go."

"Or what? You'll shoot her trying to hit me?" The man challenged. "How is that going to help anybody?"

The soldier Connor had his gun on did not seem overly concerned either as he stared down the barrel. His head cocked to the side as he questioned, "Hey, Walt. Have you seen this guy before?"

Walt's grip on the woman's waist tightened as he moved his knife even closer to her throat and turned to look over at Connor.

"I don't know," the man responded as if he couldn't care less whether they had met before or not. "Maybe. He doesn't look all that memorable."

For a moment it seemed that the soldier was going to let it go, but then recognition lit up his features as he smiled and asked, "Kind of looks like Monroe's kid. Doesn't he?"

Shit. Well, if they had figured it out anyways, then Connor may as well put it to use instead of trying to deny it. Dropping his father's name to make people behave how he wanted was one of the few perks of having Sebastian Monroe as a father.

"That's because I am," he insisted smugly as he took a step closer. "And somehow I doubt he's going to be happy when he hears about this."

Walt was laughing again as he scoffed out, "Right, like Monroe gives a shit about whether a few girls go missing. We wouldn't be the first to take one and we won't be the last. He's turned a blind eye every other time. Why would he care now?"

"Yeah," his friend insisted. "Isn't he a little too busy pretending he's going to turn the power back on?"

"Or getting people to carry helicopters to his front door like he's got any use for them?"

That had them both laughing. Connor's father was a joke, even to his own militia. Apparently he had no real control over them, or at least not over these two.

The sound of the gunshot was enough to put the end to both of their laughter. The soldier was dead before his body hit the ground.

Walt stumbled back a step, then insisted, "Stupid move."

He pressed the knife into the flesh at the woman's throat, but apparently his single step backwards had been enough for Charlie to get a better angle, since when she let her arrow loose it went right through his eye.

The woman let out a horrific sob and her father rushed towards her in a panic as he asked, "Are you alright?"

Her father pulled her close to him as she nodded her head frantically and insisted, "I'm fine."

Her neck was bleeding, but it looked like it was just a nick and not anything too serious.

Connor looked away and noticed the pair of horses again. The soldiers wouldn't be needing those anymore.

"Looks like we're going to be able to travel faster with those," he commented.

Charlie didn't respond. She was so wrapped up in the scene before her that again he couldn't be sure if she had heard him or not.

"Thank you so much," the woman said as she looked over at Charlie.

When she turned to smile over at Connor, he shifted a little awkwardly and stared at his feet.

"Do you two have somewhere to sleep tonight?" She asked. "We would be happy to have you stay with us."

These people knew who Connor was. They must have heard what the soldiers had said, just like they must have heard him confirm it. Why were they inviting him to stay with them when they had just been attacked by militia and knew he was the son of Sebastian Monroe?

"That would be great," Charlie answered them with a big smile. "I'm Charlie, by the way, and this is Connor."

Connor didn't say anything, afraid to screw things up.

"I'm Angela," the other woman responded.

"And I'm Greg, her father," the man told them. "Our place is just through the trees this way."

* * *

Angela and Greg shared their dinner with Charlie and Connor before showing the pair to the bedroom they would be staying in for the night. Neither asked whose bedroom it had used to be.

"It's nice to have a real bed again," Charlie insisted as she chucked her shoes off and made herself comfortable on top of the covers.

Connor was glad that he wasn't the only one thinking it. Up until that point, Charlie had seemed all too comfortable on the road. It was nice to see he wasn't the only one their trip was taking a toll on.

He fell back down on the bed beside her, still fully-dressed, and turned to look over at her.

"You really know how to use that bow, huh?" He commented. "But the gun you took off of that guard would have worked just as well, if not better, you know. People are more scared of guns."

"Guns have limited bullets," she countered. "I got my arrows back and that gun's still fully loaded."

"How did you learn to use a bow like that?" He asked curiously.

"Partly through hunting," she responded. "But a lot of the time me and Danny would have competitions to see who could make a more difficult shot when we were supposed to be hunting. We'd shoot at these rusty old cans we found, or targets we carved into the side of trees."

"Danny?" Connor asked. His first thought was that the guy was an ex, but he knew she probably would not react well if he guessed that.

"My brother," she explained.

Connor hadn't even known she had one.

Charlie was silent for a moment, seemingly lost in some deep thought, before she told him, "This is by far the longest I've been away from him since he was born."

"You miss him?" Connor asked. He was afraid that if she thought about her family too much and how she missed them that he might not be enough and she might go running back, leaving him alone to look and feel like a total idiot.

"Yeah," she admitted. "You spend every day around the same people in the same place, you're bound to miss it. How about you? Do you miss anything?"

His father hadn't really been torn away from him all at once like Charlie's family seemed to have been. The Monroe that Connor had moved to Philadelphia to learn from had been fading away behind the paranoia and the ridiculous schemes meant to get Miles and the electricity back and under his control. His father had been growing more and more absent before Connor had left, so he didn't exactly feel a sting of missing his father.

He missed the idea of a father that Monroe had fostered when he had first moved. He missed his old understanding of his father's legacy and he missed believing one day it would really be his. He missed the respect and fear he would get out of other people when they found out he was Monroe's son. He missed it being easy to get almost any material thing he thought of. He missed having a change of clothes and not walking from dawn until dusk.

"I miss my bed," he told her finally after a long pause.

She let out a laugh, "So do I."


	18. Chapter 18

Charlie woke up in the morning and rolled over. The bed was much less spacious than Connor's which she had admittedly grown somewhat used to sharing with him, even though she had tried so hard to resist finding any sense of normalcy in their routine when she had been undercover. This smaller bed was a different story though, so as Charlie rolled over she bumped into Connor's arm which he had folded between them, half underneath his pillow.

He shifted closer to the edge of the bed, seemingly trying to move out of her way in his sleep. As his other arm slid off the bed and one of his legs dangled precariously close to the edge of the mattress, Charlie grabbed him by the shoulder. She wasn't sure if she intended to hold him on the bed or wake him up before he could fall. Either way, it worked. He woke with a start, then rolled towards her.

"Time to leave already?" He questioned as he rubbed at his eye with one hand.

She considered for a moment, then smiled and told him, "Maybe not yet."

He glanced over his shoulder out the window, then looked back over at her again.

"It is light out, isn't it?" He pointed out with a smirk.

"I know," she responded. "But we do have those horses now, so traveling won't take so long. And we're far enough away that it'll take long enough for militia to find us that stopping for a little while longer probably won't get us caught."

"I like where this is headed," Connor commented with a flirtatious smile.

"We may as well put this bed to good use while we've got one, right?"

* * *

"Thanks for letting us stay overnight," Charlie said as she and Connor gathered their bags at the door after breakfast.

"It's the least we could do. Really," Angela insisted.

"And don't worry," Greg added as he looked over towards Connor. "We won't tell anyone that we saw you."

"Thanks," Connor responded.

Charlie noticed that he looked a little stiff and did not meet the other man's eyes as he spoke, but maybe that was because he wasn't entirely comfortable in the wrong sized change of clothes that Greg had provided him.

* * *

The horses proved to be an advantage quite quickly. With them, Charlie and Connor were not only able to cover distances much faster, they also wasted a lot less energy in the process. That was a sweet relief to Charlie's feet after days on end of walking which had made the heels she'd worn to visit Connor seem like comfy slippers.

"So your brother's pretty important to you, huh?" Connor asked. "And yet I don't know anything about him. I mean, up until last night, I didn't even know he existed."

"Sorry it didn't exactly come up in the bedroom," Charlie responded in an amused tone. "Before you knew who I was I had good reason not to tell you anything about my personal life. And there was kind of a lot going on after you got captured."

"Well, tell me about him now then," Connor suggested. "You said he was younger than you, right?"

"By three years," she agreed. "Sometimes it felt like the gap was a lot bigger than that though. Doctors didn't think he was going to survive as a baby, but he did. And after the blackout it became a lot harder for him to get by, but he still did. You wouldn't think he's tough from looking at him, but he's one of the toughest people I know. I spent a lot of time worrying about him and looking after him though. I'd go from checking on him at night to make sure that he was still breathing to dragging him off to get in trouble with me the next morning."

"So what does he think of you running off to get yourself in trouble with me?" Connor questioned.

"He's not a fan of you," she admitted. "He wasn't thrilled with me taking the mission. He wasn't feeling well and stayed home one night, then found out about the plan after I'd already been with you. If he'd had his way, I would have never gone anywhere near you and he would never have heard of you. Any time I started talking about you with Nora, he'd leave the room."

"Nora. I'm guessing she's the one who convinced Miles that I wasn't going to leave you in a prison cell or worse if they let me go," he commented. "And don't you think rescuing you should at least get me some points with your brother?"

"That sounds like Nora," Charlie agreed. "And I doubt saving me made any difference in Danny not liking you. He'll be glad I'm safe, but I'm pretty sure he still thinks of you as just Monroe's son. Besides, you're the reason I ran off without him."

"What do you mean he'll be glad?" Connor questioned. "I thought you went back to say your goodbyes. Doesn't he already know you're safe?"

"I'm sure he does by now, but I didn't tell him in person. I left a note for Nora and my family," Charlie replied. Nora was basically family anyways. She was Charlie's best friend and practically her aunt. Charlie sure missed her like family. "I knew if I went to see them in person I would have let them talk me into staying with them."

"I'm glad you didn't," he told her as his eyes met hers seriously for a moment before he cracked a smile and added, "I mean, if you hadn't come along with me you would be missing out on a whole lot of sleeping outside and walking until you've got blisters on top of your blisters."

"Missing out on that would be a real shame," she agreed.

* * *

"How long does Miles have to be gone before we accept the fact that he isn't coming back?" Danny questioned.

"He's coming back," Nora insisted, although she herself had been having her doubts. "Charlie could be anywhere. Who knows how long it will take before he finds her."

"Or doesn't and gives up," Danny countered. "I still don't see why he went with Monroe. He should be killing him, not helping him. Why does he need Monroe's help finding Charlie when we could take him out and find her ourselves?"

Although she had thought the same thing, Nora could not admit that. Someone had to be the optimist, especially with Charlie gone.

"Monroe might know where Connor would go," she pointed out.

"And then what? What makes him and Miles so sure that they can convince Connor to go back with him and Charlie to come back here?" He asked. "In case you haven't noticed, Charlie is stubborn. Besides, even if that plan does work out, we can't really just let Monroe go back that easily."

"We'll deal with that when we get to it," Nora insisted. "We can worry about that when Miles gets back."

"Or, we could take advantage of the fact that Monroe's off looking for his kid and the militia has no real leader," Danny countered. "Why should we wait until he comes back and comes after us. We should make a move now."

"We don't know if that will work or not," she pointed out. "Besides, we don't have any idea who is in charge with Monroe gone. If we go now, we go in blind. And if things don't work, it's just going to make things worse for Charlie and Miles when they get back."

" _If_ they get back," Danny corrected. "And if we do nothing and sit around, then we're just doing exactly what Monroe wants. We miss our opportunity and there's no way he's really going to send Charlie and Miles both back, even if things work out perfectly. He's going to keep one of them and the other is going to go try to get them back and we're just going to end up right back where we started."

* * *

"You're sure that we can trust whoever's house this is?" Charlie asked skeptically. When Connor didn't answer and bounded up the front steps, she added, "Don't you think we should be staying out of cities? Even if whoever it is doesn't say anything, someone is going to see us eventually."

He smirked over at her as he knocked on the door. She had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. He was Monroe's son, used to show-boating around wherever he wanted, and it was starting to show again. She knew more about lying low and in her opinion he wasn't being anywhere near careful enough.

"Who lives here anyways?" She questioned.

His smile never faltered and he made no effort to answer her before the door swung quickly open to reveal a red-headed woman who grinned when she spotted who was on her doorstep.

"What are you doing here?" The woman asked as she hugged Connor tight. She pulled back and looked her son over. His wounds had mostly healed, but the woman's smile still fell at what she saw. She smoothed a piece of hair away from his forehead and her eyes were filled with concern as she asked, "Is everything okay?"

Charlie was even more confused now. Connor's mother was dead. Every rebel knew that. Monroe hadn't known about his son until she had died and Connor had gone to Monroe and become the prodigal son. It was common knowledge. And yet this woman standing in front of her was unmistakably nurturing him like a mother.

"I just needed to get away from Dad for a while," Connor responded with a casual shrug. The woman who Charlie was becoming more and more certain was his supposed-to-be-dead mother dropped it at that as she wrapped her arms around herself and frowned. Charlie got the distinct impression that Connor's mother was planning on bringing the subject up again later.

"You brought a girl with you," the woman said as if she had just noticed Charlie for the first time. Her smile returned, not quite as bright this time, as she turned her full attention to the younger woman. "How rude of me. I should have introduced myself earlier. I'm Emma. Connor's mother."

"Charlie," she responded. It was the only word she could get out as her mind worked a mile a minute trying to figure out how the rebels had gotten things so wrong for so long.

Her mind whipped back to the present moment as she felt arms envelop her suddenly. She hesitantly wrapped her own arms around Connor's mother in return.

"Connor's never brought a girl home before," Emma pointed out. "You must be pretty special."

Charlie was becoming increasingly aware of that. She had thought she had realized just how much Connor was willing to risk for her before, but this was a new level.

Emma turned her attention back to her son as she eagerly asked, "Do you know how long you're here for?"

Connor's voice was calm and detached as he responded, "I don't know. A long time, probably."

Charlie was surprised to find Emma frown at that. If she had been so excited to see her son, why was she upset to find out that he was staying indefinitely?

"What happened?" Emma prompted. "What did your father do?"

That was one question that Charlie could answer, but it was clearly directed at Connor and she thought it best he took the lead on how much information he wanted to divulge about the consequences that had brought them there.

"Nothing worth wasting breath on," Connor responded nonchalantly.


	19. Chapter 19

Connor's bedroom here was much more modest than the one Charlie had grown accustomed to visiting at militia headquarters. Instead of the bed she could have comfortably lain sideways across, there was one that looked like it could just fit them both with little to no excess space on either side. A worn comforter covered the bed and there were a couple of lumpy pillows that looked like they had seen better days. Still, it was a bed and that was better than most of what she had seen lately.

"Sorry," he told her, dragging her focus away from the room and towards where he was still standing in the doorway. When she shot him a puzzled look, he added, "About my mom coming on a bit strong."

"She's nice," Charlie responded. "Definitely the better of your parents."

"No argument there," Connor agreed in a matter-of-fact tone as he looked around his childhood bedroom.

"You could have warned me you were bringing me to your mom's place," she pointed out. "Especially when it's such a big deal to her. I didn't even know she was alive. Rebels thought she died years ago."

"That's the official story," he explained. "It's safer if everyone, militia or otherwise, thinks she died tragically. That way no one goes searching for her."

"So then why did you bring me here?" Charlie asked. "Doesn't that kind of jeopardize the whole set-up?"

"Because my dad won't look for us here," he responded. "He steers clear of her altogether."

"Are you sure of that?" Charlie questioned.

"Positive," Connor assured her. His lips twitched up into a wry grin as he added, "You know, all this unpacking has got me feeling ready to go to bed early."

Sure, Emma had sent them upstairs to unpack and get comfortable but Connor didn't exactly have much with him after leaving so short notice and all Charlie had seen him do since entering the room was place his gun down on the desk.

"You're right," Charlie responded as she faked a yawn, covering her mouth to cover the laugh she was stifling. "I can't wait to get some sleep. I'm _so_ tired."

He watched her closely, like he was trying to judge whether she actually wanted to go to sleep or if she was just messing with him.

She cracked under his gaze and burst into laughter as she tossed her backpack next to the gun on his desk.

"Hard to believe you ever tricked me," he responded.

"I guess you must be extremely gullible," she insisted with a grin.

"Well, you were _very_ convincing at times," he admitted.

"Close the door," she told him. "And get those pants off. I've got some convincing to do."

* * *

When Charlie woke up in the morning, Connor was still lying on his stomach and lightly snoring. He had shifted during the night to practically the centre of the bed and he had one arm wedged underneath his pillow angling it how he wanted.

The smell of fresh coffee wafting up the stairs drew Charlie from the bed. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had a cup of coffee, let alone a good one.

She rose from the bed, deciding not to wake Connor when he looked so comfortable, and went over to where her backpack was sitting on the small wooden desk by the window.

When she reached into the bag to find something to wear, her hand felt something solid through the fabric of a tank top. It was the pendant she had been trying and failing to forget about.

She still didn't know what she was going to do with it. There was no way she could let Monroe find it, so she wasn't entirely sure it was safe keeping it with her. But she couldn't leave it somewhere for anybody to find, since whoever found it could cause problems too.

Charlie knew she was going to have to figure out some kind of solution, just not yet. She pushed the tank top and pendant back to the bottom of her bag and grabbed another shirt.

For now she was going to enjoy being with Connor while they were no longer on the run, or lying to each other, or on opposing sides. They had a roof over their heads and they could be a normal couple now. Or at least something closer to one.

* * *

"Good morning," Emma greeted with a warm smile as Charlie walked into the kitchen. "Would you like some coffee?"

"Morning," Charlie responded. "I'd love some."

"Here, have a seat," Emma told her as she gestured towards the table which occupied most of the space in the kitchen.

Charlie sat down and took the mug Emma held out to her.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome," the other woman responded as she sat down across the table from Charlie. "Is Connor still asleep?"

"Yeah," Charlie responded. "He doesn't looks like he's going to wake up anytime soon."

"Good. That'll give us some time to get to know each other a little better then," Emma commented.

Charlie did want to get to know Emma more, but she wasn't sure what to ask. She knew she couldn't ask any of the questions that were weighing the most on her mind, so she took a sip from her drink to buy her a little time in the hopes that Emma would start the conversation first.

"It's okay," Emma told her with a kind smile. "You can ask whatever it is you're wondering."

Charlie hesitated for a moment and took another sip from her coffee cup before she got up the nerve to ask, "So you and Monroe. How did that happen?"

"He wasn't always the way he is now," the other woman responded. "Back then he was just Bass, not General Monroe. It was before the blackout when we were both still kids. I don't agree with what he's become, but I don't regret what happened between us because it gave me Connor."

"So if you don't agree with what Monroe is doing, then why did you let Connor go live with him?" Charlie questioned.

"Connor didn't know who his father was for a long time," Emma admitted. "I lied to him and told him he was just some mechanic I barely knew. For a long time he didn't ever question it. But then he got older and he wanted to know more and I didn't want to keep lying, especially because since Monroe had become what he had I had been living in fear of him finding out about Connor and that being the way Connor finds out whose son he really is."

Charlie was sure finding out the truth by being told must be better than the alternative, especially considering how Connor had shut her out when he had first found out that she wasn't who she had claimed to be by accident while she had still been lying to him.

"So I told him the truth and he didn't do anything at first," Emma continued. "He pretended not to care. Probably because he was trying to spare my feelings. But then I found out that he was asking around about Monroe. About what he was like now and who he had been back when he had lived here. And that's when I knew that I had to let him make his own decisions about it."

"So you stayed home and let him become a part of the militia?" Charlie asked. She couldn't imagine how Emma had come to that decision, or why Connor had left his mother to be with Monroe.

"I knew he would be safer in Philadelphia," the other woman pointed out. "Plus he could find out what he wanted to know about his father without going around town asking people and raising suspicions about who his father was."

Charlie wasn't sure what to say. In a way Philadelphia probably was safer than the rest of the republic if you had the privilege of being Monroe's heavily guarded son. But she was walking proof that it wasn't as safe as it might seem and she wasn't about to tell Emma about how she was one of the rebels who put Connor at risk there, let alone how she had entered Connor's life with the goal of stopping him and his father.

"But that's enough about me. I want to know more about you," Emma insisted. "So, Charlie. Where's your family?"

"Back in Philadelphia," she responded. Or at least what was left of her family was.

"Do they know that you're here?" the other woman inquired. "What do they think about you being so far away?"

"They know I'm somewhere," Charlie answered. "They know I went off with Connor for a while, but they don't have the exact details. They're probably worried about me."

She considered for a moment. Danny probably wouldn't be thrilled about who she had run off with, but she didn't think he would be mad. Her mom probably was, but would be more concerned about what was going to happen to her than angry at Charlie.

Miles was a different story altogether. He wouldn't necessarily be mad about the running away. He would probably make one cheap shot, then be thrilled to have Charlie back when she ever returned. If he knew about the pendant, he would think Charlie had made the right call. But he would still be upset about her blatantly disregarding his advice and then leaving before he could even lecture her about how he had been right about it blowing up in her face.

"I'm sure my brother will want to hear all about the travelling when I get back," Charlie added. "My Mom's probably worrying enough for three people, but I bet she'll be okay once she knows I'm safe. Miles is going to give me a real lecture when I get back though. He knows I can look out for myself out here, but that isn't going to stop him from being mad that I did something he specifically told me not to and then left before he got the chance to tell me about all of the ways things could have gone horribly, fatally wrong."

Charlie watched as Emma hesitated for a moment, as if she was trying to decide whether to say something or not while she stared down at the remains of the coffee in her mug, swishing it around a little in the cup.

"This Miles," she asked as her eyes flickered up to meet Charlie's again. "Are you talking about Miles Matheson?"

It couldn't really be that dangerous to admit that to Emma. Right? Charlie had been let in on the secret of Emma being alive and if Connor knew that she was related to Miles, there was no reason she should keep it hidden from his mom.

"Yup," she confirmed. "He's my uncle. He's pretty cool most of the time. Except when he decides to be a know-it-all pain in the ass."

"I take it he's still just as stubborn as he used to be then," Emma commented with a smile.

"You knew Miles?" Charlie asked eagerly. "What was he like back then?"

"I met him back when we were both teenagers," Emma responded. "He and Bass. I mean, he and Monroe were inseparable. They didn't seem to have any interest in anybody else or pay much attention to anyone. Somehow I ended up being the exception to that."

Charlie had a hard time imagining Miles as a teenager, but she bet that he'd disregarded what he was told to do at least as much as she ignored his advice.

"Miles used to always try to show off, but not the same way Monroe would. Bass was outright looking for attention. Miles liked to pretend he was indifferent and he'd assure you of just how much he didn't care about something. And you'd almost believe it, even when his actions told a completely different story."

"That sounds like him," Charlie agreed with a laugh.

"He read a lot of Stephen King back then too. I don't think I've ever seen him read anything but those horror books," Emma told her. A smile crossed her lips as she added, "And I'm pretty sure he fell asleep in every history class he actually bothered to show up to. If Bass hadn't let him copy off of him, there's no way he would have passed the class."

Charlie was surprised that Monroe knew anything about history. Wasn't the whole point of learning it so that you wouldn't repeat someone else's mistakes? Who knows. Maybe the psycho was inspired by past atrocities.

"And you didn't want to get him mad," Emma insisted. "Miles was stubborn back then too and when he got angry he'd either disappear for a few days or start an argument no one was going to win. Bass was usually the one on the receiving end of that though. They'd get in some huge fight and two days later suddenly they would be the best of friends again. Like there had never been anything wrong between them. Most of the time I don't think they even talked about what had happened. Just cooled off and were back to normal again."

That idea scared Charlie. She didn't like considering Miles making up with Monroe ever. But things were different now. They weren't just having some fight over whatever it was teenage Miles got angry about. There was no way Miles would just go back to the way things used to be as if Monroe hadn't gone mad with power and turned into a monster. Right?


	20. Chapter 20

Connor woke up to find the other side of the bed empty with the covers half thrown back. Apparently Charlie was back to disappearing in the morning as quickly as she could.

He let out a sigh and was debating whether to go back to sleep or get up when he heard loud laughter coming from below. His curiosity got the best of him, so he rose from the bed and threw some clothes on, then followed the faint sound of voices down the stairs.

"Do I want to know what you two are talking about?" Connor questioned as he walked into the kitchen to find Charlie and his mother smiling across the table at each other. He really hoped that his mom had not been sharing embarrassing stories about him. He was probably better off if neither of them divulged too much information to the other.

"Nothing bad," Emma insisted. "We've just been getting to know each other."

"That better be it," he warned.

Connor paused next to Charlie's chair on his way past the kitchen table. He set one hand on the table to steady himself as he ducked down to give Charlie a peck on the lips.

"Good morning," he told her with a lazy smile before he continued on his way to pour himself a cup of questionably hot coffee.

"Don't worry," Emma told him, which only caused him to turn back to her with his coffee mug in his hand and worry at the forefront of his mind. "I haven't even broken out the baby and little kid pictures yet."

Charlie's eyes lit up at that. "I need to see those."

"Fine," Connor responded with a shrug, then leaned back against the kitchen counter. "I've got nothing to hide. I didn't become this cute overnight, you know. I was an adorable kid."

"I bet."

* * *

"Your mom asked me how we met," Charlie confessed when they were alone later that day. She must have seen a flicker of fear cross his features before he managed to compose himself, since she quickly added, "I told her the truth. Minus a few details."

"What truth is that?" He asked, shoulders tensed.

"I said we met at a bar," she responded with a shrug. "Girls were all over you, but you couldn't keep your eyes off of me."

"You've got that right," he agreed with a cat-like smile. "Even if you did omit a few details."

He was glad she had.

"I also told her that Miles is my uncle," Charlie added.

That was something Connor preferred not to think about. He wouldn't have been overly offended if Charlie had chosen to omit that detail around his mother too.

"It came up," she explained, when he didn't respond fast enough.

"Did anything else come up that I should know about?"

"I didn't say anything about being a rebel or either of us getting captured, if that's what you're talking about," she replied.

She was amazing.

It wasn't that Connor wanted to lie to his mother, but there were certain aspects of his and Charlie's origin that he would rather she never find out about. Those details would only complicate things more and get her worried. He didn't need his mom treating him like he couldn't handle taking a leak unguarded when he had just gotten away from his father's overbearing restrictions.

"My mom likes you," Connor informed her. "A lot."

"She'd probably like any girl you brought home with how excited she was when we showed up, even before she knew anything about me," Charlie countered.

"No. It's more than that," he insisted.

"Well I like her too," Charlie assured him. "And _I_ like _you_ a lot."

She kissed him before he could respond with how he felt about her.

He more than just liked her, but he was happy to settle for this for now. So when she came up for air, he simply responded, "The feeling is mutual."

* * *

Miles was more than a little annoyed at how long of a break Monroe was taking, lounging against a tree as he downed the last of their water. The longer Monroe sat on his ass, the longer it would take to find Charlie and the longer Miles would be stuck in the other man's company.

"Nothing better happen to Connor while he's out wherever the hell Rachel's kid dragged him," Monroe grumbled as if he intended for Miles to feel sorry for him. Miles was going to have to pass on that one. "Imagine what Emma would think if he got injured out there."

"Because _this_ is where she'd draw the line and not at her kid becoming part of your militia," Miles retorted. He was sure Emma had been rolling over in her grave for a long time before Connor had even met Charlie, let alone considered running off with her.

"No, she agreed to that," Monroe responded. "It was part of our arrangement."

"What arrangement?" Miles asked as his blood ran cold. He could hear his pulse thrumming in his ears. "What are you talking about?"

Monroe didn't answer, which only made Miles angrier and more curious.

"Emma died, then her kid came to Philly," Miles insisted. "That's when you found out about him. I might have been gone by then, but everyone knows that. And there's no way she would have allowed this. Not even with her dying breath."

"She isn't dead, Miles."

"What?"

"You heard me," Monroe insisted. He seemed to have gained confidence as he stood up and began to walk towards Miles.

"I heard you, alright," Miles agreed. "I'm just not sure if this is you being a pathological liar or if you've fallen completely, utterly off your rocker for good." He paused for a moment and crinkled his nose in consideration. "Or both."

"She didn't want to come to Philly," Bass commented. "But if I had a son, people were going to wonder about who his mother was. Emma didn't want to come where I could protect her. She told me to protect Connor and then we came up with the story of her death to protect her from crazies and enemies."

"If she's alive, then why aren't we heading to her place to look for them?" Miles demanded. "Instead of going off on some wild goose chase."

"There's no way he would go there," Monroe responded with a shake of his head. "I mean, it would be way too obvious. Right? Besides, he wouldn't put Emma in danger like that. So I really don't feel like walking all the way to Jasper just to figure out they aren't there and have Emma find out that Connor went missing on my watch. She already doesn't want me there enough without me showing up on her doorstep to deliver that news. Part of our agreement was I stay away from Jasper and stay away from her."

"Isn't that all the more reason for him to go there?" Miles questioned. "If he knows you're not going back to Jasper and you're afraid of facing Emma, it would be the perfect place to hide in plain sight."


	21. Chapter 21

Connor was still fast asleep when Charlie woke up late the next morning. He was lying flat on his stomach with his head facing away from her and towards the window, yet the sunlight shining in on his face did not seem to bother him at all.

She pressed her lips against his shoulder to see if it would wake him up.

"Connor."

Nothing.

She slid over to his side of the bed, placing one leg on either side of him, over top of the covers, then kissed him on the cheek.

"Connor."

"What?" He murmured.

"You sleep too much," she told him.

"Sorry," he commented as a small smile tugged at his lips and his eyes fluttered open. "Is that why you're always running off before I wake up?"

"Well, now that I'm not getting paid, it's just not worth waiting around for you to wake up," she teased as she slid off of him, back onto her own side of the bed.

"You barely waited when you were getting paid," he pointed out as he rolled onto his back. "And sorry to break it to you, but I'm poor again."

He grinned up at her as she sat cross-legged beside him.

"Hard to believe I ran away with you then," she joked, then reached out to smooth a curl away from one of his eyes.

When she went to pull her arm back, he grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips, then let their intertwined hands fall onto his bare chest.

"I knew you liked me for more than just the money," Connor told her in a triumphant tone.

"I like this a lot better than getting paid to be with you," she pointed out.

"You're a lot nicer when you aren't getting paid," he responded with a laugh.

"What? I wasn't nice enough before?" She taunted.

"You were some of the time," he told her. "But sometimes you really couldn't take a compliment."

"And I can now?" She challenged.

"I don't know. I guess we'd better test that theory out," he replied with a smirk.

There was a long pause as he stared up into her eyes before he spoke again in a much more serious tone.

"You really are gorgeous, you know. And you're scarily good with a bow."

"Does that mean you're afraid of me?" She challenged.

"No, I don't think you're planning on killing me anytime soon," he responded. "Besides, if you weren't so good with that bow and setting traps, we might have starved on the way here."

"It really is impressive that you managed to travel without me before this," she agreed.

"You're pretty good for conversation too, especially for someone who used to try so hard to avoid it," he pointed out. "That's right. I know you were just distracting me with sex a lot of the time. Or most of it. Maybe even all the time."

She let out a laugh at that, then challenged, "So then why did you go along with it?"

"Because I liked your methods," he pointed out with a grin. "And that's what you were there for, right? Well, that and gathering information. You picked an interesting strategy there, trying to get information out of me without letting me talk."

"I let you talk," she insisted. "I just tried to avoid conversations where I'd slip up and feel too guilty and end up getting mad at you."

"You know, I said some nice things about you just now and you didn't even storm off," he pointed out in an amused tone. "You must take compliments better now. I mean, you didn't go above and beyond and shower me with compliments in return. But, overall, not bad. How many of those compliments did you really mean back in Philly, anyways?"

She stopped to think about it for a moment, then confessed, "Most of them were just to distract you and keep you happy."

"So, you really could resist my body that first night?" He asked with a hurt facial expression she could tell he was faking.

"I'm pretty sure I could have," she told him in a sympathetic tone. "But I did think you were cute, which was pretty good considering at that point you were just Monroe's son to me."

"I'll take it," he said with a grin. "What else did you really think of me?"

"I thought you were kind of a dick when you were just going to take off and leave me there all day after you ripped that dress in half that first night," she admitted with a laugh.

"Sorry," he told her. "But at least I got you another one, right?"

"Only after I brought it up multiple times," she countered. "And then you acted like I had already left the second that you paid me."

"Because you wanted to leave so badly and I still wanted you to come back," he pointed out.

"Really?" Charlie questioned as she narrowed her eyes at him. "You weren't just ignoring me because you were done with me?"

"I'll never be done with you, Charlie," he assured her. "What else did you think?"

"I thought you were surprisingly good in bed," she told him.

"Surprisingly?" He repeated.

"You were paying me to be there," she pointed out. "I wasn't expecting you to be all that concerned about my experience. And I was disgusted by how sweet you were when you let me sleep instead of waking me up and then still paid me."

"Yeah, I was really nice to you and you were really awful after that," he teased her.

"You know, once I got past the guilt, I actually started liking being your fake girlfriend," she confessed.

"What about now?" He asked her. "How do you like being my real girlfriend?"

"It's much better," she assured him, then bent down to kiss him.

* * *

"So, how did you two end up together if Miles is your uncle?" Emma asked Charlie during dinner that night. "Miles isn't back in the militia. Is he?"

"No. He's still on his high horse with the rebels," Connor answered for her.

Charlie shot a glare in his direction. Was that really what he thought about the rebels, even after everything he had found out? Was that what he thought about her for being a rebel?

"He's still pretending like he's so much better than the militia just because he took off and started going after the same people he trained," Connor continued, sounding distinctly bitter. "But, apparently, killing and violently interrogating people is fine when he does it."

"He didn't want to interrogate you," Charlie argued.

"He sure didn't seem sorry to me," Connor countered. "He was perfectly happy to do whatever it took to get any answers he could before killing me. And don't try to pretend like he wasn't going to kill me, whether I gave him information or not."

"He didn't want to kill you," she insisted. "There weren't many options once you got captured and saw the way back to the base."

Connor's voice dropped significantly in volume as he questioned, "You agreed with him?"

His tear brimmed eyes were making it hard for Charlie to hold onto her anger as guilt welled up in its place.

"No," she told him. "I begged him not to."

"But he was still going to kill me. Wasn't he?" He challenged.

"He let you go. Didn't he?" She argued.

"Only because you left and got yourself captured too," he countered.

"Hold on," Emma said loudly and Charlie quickly turned in her direction as she suddenly remembered that Emma was there and had not known about any of this beforehand. Emma's eyes were focused on her son as she demanded, "You got captured by rebels? Why didn't you tell me? And what the hell were you doing when they found you?" She turned to Charlie then. "And what? You're a rebel? Were you involved in capturing him?"

"She's a rebel, but she had nothing to do with it," Connor defended her. "I was looking for the rebel base with some men and different rebels grabbed me without her knowing."

"What were you doing out on a mission?" Emma questioned.

"What?"

Connor looked taken completely off-guard by the question.

"Of course, he didn't keep his word," Emma complained as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "I never should have trusted him to keep you safe. I should have known he'd break his word."

"What are you talking about?" Connor asked. His voice came out much sterner this time.

"When you went to Philadelphia, your father promised me that he wouldn't let you do anything dangerous," Emma responded. "He was supposed to keep you safe. He promised me he wouldn't let you go on any missions."

Connor looked like he had been slapped across the face.

"He didn't _let_ me do anything," he pointed out in an annoyed tone. "I had to force him to give me _something_ to do. Do you know how many fights I've had with him because he wouldn't trust me to do _anything_? I'm not a little kid. You can't keep making him baby me for you."

"Connor-" Emma tried, but he clearly wasn't listening.

"I'm not hungry anymore," he grumbled, then got up from the table and walked out the door.

"Do you want me to go talk to him?" Charlie offered.

"No," Emma responded. "The best thing when he gets like this is to give him a little space to cool off first."

* * *

Charlie was already in bed by the time that Connor came back hours later. He thought she was asleep as he quietly got into the bed, lying facing away from her, but he quickly found out otherwise when she spoke up quietly.

"Are you mad at me too?"

"What?" When she didn't respond, he added, "For what?"

"For defending Miles," she said. "And for hearing that stuff."

She wasn't wrong that he wasn't thrilled she had witnessed that conversation. She hated his dad. In her mind, Sebastian Monroe wasn't even human. He was afraid of what she thought about the fact that he actually gave a damn about his father enough to be mad at his mom for forcing Monroe into a promise that had caused endless fights between them.

She was right that Connor was still mad about Miles too. He still didn't like him, but that was because Miles was a dick, not because of anything Charlie had done. She wasn't the one who had wanted him dead.

Charlie snaked her arm around his waist and he felt her chest pressed against his back.

"No, I'm not mad at you," he decided.

"What about your mom?" She asked. There was a long pause before she quietly added, "She just wants to keep you safe."

"I know."

He also knew that he couldn't stay mad at his mom for long. Not really. It had been him and her against the world for most of his life. She was overprotective, but even that was in large part Monroe's fault. He knew she'd spent years worrying on her own about what would happen if people found out whose son he was, even before she had told him about Monroe. If his father was someone else, his mom would never have had to worry so much about him.

* * *

"Good morning," Connor greeted when he entered the kitchen the next day.

"Was that directed at both of us, or just Charlie?" Emma asked.

He considered for a moment, then responded, "Both."

"Does that mean you aren't mad at me anymore?"

"What's the point?" Connor questioned. "It's not like not being allowed to do much is the only problem I have with him. We would have fought about other stuff either way."

Sure, Connor was annoyed that Monroe never let him go on missions, but he also never told Connor anything important. Plus, he was too busy obsessing over how to get the power back on and Miles back in the militia to even notice Connor was there half of the time. He was as oblivious to Connor's presence as he was to the fact that he was turning him and Connor into a giant joke.

"What other stuff?" Emma asked with concern written all over her face.

Charlie looked curious too, which only made Connor want to avoid the question even more.

He shrugged. "Doesn't matter."

"Not that I'm not happy you're here," Emma told him. "But, obviously, it's something when you showed up here unplanned with no idea how long you're staying. What happened?"

"Charlie got captured," he told her again. "By him. I was already sick enough of him anyways, so I helped her escape and now we're here. End of story."

"Already sick enough of him why?" Emma pressed.

Connor glanced out the kitchen window, pretending he hadn't heard the question.

"Connor," his mother tried. "Tell me."

"Fine," he said in an exasperated tone. "He's lost it. He's completely delusional and paranoid beyond belief and I'm sick of pretending like he isn't. He barely even notices that I'm there and when he does, it's just to tell me what I shouldn't be doing because he clearly doesn't want me around anyways."

Connor had no doubt that his father would trade him for Miles Matheson in a heartbeat. Hell, Miles could have gone through with killing him and Monroe still would have taken him back.

"Well, screw him then," Emma responded. "We got along just fine without him. Right?"

Connor smiled, mostly for his mother's benefit. "Right."

They had been fine without Monroe, but that didn't take the sting out of the situation. When Connor had first gone to Philadelphia, he had been taken aback by how enthusiastic Monroe had been about having a son. He'd promised Connor everything and had wanted Connor involved in every aspect of his life. Then he had gotten to know Connor better, and that was when Monroe had tossed Connor aside to fend for himself and hopefully not get into any more trouble that would inconvenience him.

Connor looked over at Charlie, but her expression was unreadable. She was staring back at him though. He was afraid she was going to have an easier time reading his face, so he looked away again.


	22. Chapter 22

Charlie carefully moved Connor's arm off of her and slid out of bed. She could barely see where she was stepping by the faint moonlight shining in through the window, so she was extra cautious as she tiptoed towards the chair where she had tossed her clothes before going to bed. She glanced back at Connor, but he hadn't moved and his chest was still rising and falling rhythmically.

She pulled her clothes back on, leaving her boots off for the time being, then reached into her backpack to retrieve the pendant that had been weighing on her mind so heavily. With one last look to make sure Connor was still asleep, she slipped out of the bedroom with the pendant in one hand and her boots in the other.

Once outside, Charlie stopped for just long enough to put her boots on, then glanced around in the stillness of the night. There was no one else in sight, so she figured the coast was probably clear as she crossed the soft grass into the neighbour's yard.

She cringed when the door of the shed squeaked gently as she pulled it open.

After a few seconds of complete silence, her heart rate began to approach normal again and she became convinced enough that no one was coming to catch her. She stepped into the shed, ducking the cobwebs, and spotted just what she was looking for. The shovel in the back corner was a little rusty, but it should do the trick.

Charlie traveled through backyards when there weren't fences blocking her, in the hopes that she was less likely to be found than if she traveled on the roads. She wasn't entirely sure where she was going, but she was going to find somewhere to hide the pendant where no one else would stumble upon it.

She had been wandering around town for long enough that she was starting to debate whether she should lower her standards for a hiding place, when she came across a graveyard that caught her eye. No one would think there was anything off if they found a freshly dug hole in the middle of a graveyard and people weren't likely to bother going through the effort of digging up graves in the hopes of finding something worthwhile. It was the perfect place to remember where she had buried the pendant if she needed to dig it back up later, but where it wouldn't be clearly marked to someone else.

The only problem was that a small hole would look out of place. If Charlie wanted it to look like someone had buried a body, then she was going to have to dig a body sized hole.

* * *

"Where did you disappear to last night?" Connor questioned in the morning. He was half sitting up with his back leaning against the headboard and the covers draped haphazardly over his lower body. "I woke up and you were gone."

"I couldn't sleep," Charlie responded as she shifted a few inches upwards on the bed so that she could rest her head on his chest. "I decided to go for a walk."

"In the middle of the night?" He asked as the fingers of his right hand began to absentmindedly stroke her hair.

"I needed to get some fresh air and think some things over," she explained. At least it wasn't completely a lie. It was just an omission, like the one she had made when she had told Emma how she and Connor had met.

"What kind of things?" He murmured. When she didn't answer, he added, "Was it about me?"

"No," she responded honestly. She reverted back to her old deflection strategy as she teased, "Does it bother you that I don't spend every waking moment thinking about you?"

"It's heartbreaking," he played along with a chuckle. "I never would have run away with you if I'd known that."

"You ran away with me when you thought I still might just be manipulating you for the rebels," she pointed out.

"With the understanding that you spend all day every day thinking about me as part of your mission," he countered.

"And you spend all day thinking about me always?" She asked with a laugh.

"Not all day," he admitted. "But a lot of it. So, what were you thinking about that was keeping you up last night?"

"Nothing too important," she assured him.

She knew it wasn't the most convincing response, but he kissed her on the top of the head and dropped it as he commented, "You know, now that we aren't in Philly anymore, there's really nothing stopping us from staying in bed all day."

"Your mom might expect us to get up at some point," Charlie pointed out.

"Maybe, but at least she won't come crashing in if we stay in bed too long," he countered.

"We can't stay here forever you know," she murmured against his chest.

"Well, we're going to have to get up for food at some point," he agreed.

Charlie hesitated for a moment. She knew she couldn't stay with him in that bed forever, but that wasn't what she had been talking about. Just like they couldn't escape the world outside his bedroom, they couldn't escape the world outside of his house and Jasper forever either.

"No, I mean we can't just run away from everything and pretend like that means none of it is happening anymore," she told him quietly. "Or at least I can't."

He went silent for a moment, then asked her, "Is this what was keeping you up last night?"

"I have to go back," she confessed.

His fingers stopped moving through her hair. His chest tensed. Charlie tilted her head to look up at him so that she could gauge his facial expression and his fingers resumed their motions as she saw him quickly and deliberately relax his jaw. He didn't say anything.

"I mean, think about it. I'm a Matheson. You're a Monroe. This can never work out long term," she pointed out. "And as much as I like being here with you and your mom, I can't just disappear like this. I miss my family and I can't sit on the sidelines and leave them to fight without me. I'm a rebel. Running away doesn't change the fact that I tried to kill your dad or that he's causing the pain and misery and deaths of people all over the republic that he is supposed to be protecting."

"Well, technically I'm a Bennett," Connor corrected her. "I was a Bennett long before I was a Monroe."

"But you're not just a Bennett," she pointed out.

If only it were that simple.

"I know," he responded. "But it's been nice pretending I am and pretending we aren't supposed to want to fight each other."

"And pretending I didn't try to kill your dad?" She asked.

"That too," he agreed. "And that my dad doesn't want you dead."

"That Miles didn't want to kill you," Charlie added. "That your dad isn't running the republic into the ground while innocent people are left defenseless."

"That you don't have a family to go back to," Connor said quietly. "I mean, I knew that you missed them. But I was hoping if you were happy enough with me, you wouldn't think about it so much and wouldn't decide to go back to them."

"It doesn't feel right being here," Charlie told him, then glanced up to see that his face had fallen. "I am happy with you. Really happy. But that's the problem. Or at least part of it."

"What? They wouldn't want you to be happy?" He questioned.

"That's not it," she insisted. "I feel guilty about it. I mean, Monroe's planning who knows what and the rebels are already outnumbered and outarmed enough."

"You really think you personally are going to make or break whether the rebels succeed or fail?" He asked her. "That's a lot of responsibility for one person."

"No. I know one person probably doesn't make a difference in the big picture," she admitted. "But me being gone might make a difference in the small picture. I mean, Danny and my mom and Nora and Miles are all still fighting. Me not being there probably doesn't make or break the rebels, but I should be there fighting with them. And if anything happened to one of them while I was here, running away from everything, I don't know what I would do. I can't stay here and be happy while I have no idea if my family's okay or not. They might need me."

"You're really set on this?" He asked in a guarded tone.

Charlie could feel his eyes on her as she responded, "I can't stay. I wish I could stay with you, but I can't."

She felt his chest rise and fall heavily beneath her as her answer sunk in.

"Alright," he said. "So, we'll go back."

"What?" Charlie questioned as she lifted her head from his chest to shoot him a confused look. "You're going back?"

"Don't worry," he told her. "I know I can't go back to the rebel base with you. Miles would kill me."

"You're going back to Independence Hall?" She asked.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "He's my dad. I can't hide from that forever."

She wasn't sure whether it was that he couldn't or that he didn't want to. She was afraid to ask.

"Besides," he added. "If I go back with you, it buys us a little more time together and I'm not ready to give you up completely yet."

Charlie placed her head back on his chest, if only so that he couldn't tell that there were tears welling up in her eyes.

"We don't have to leave quite yet," she told him. "We can stay in bed for a little longer."

* * *

"We're leaving soon," Connor told his mother in a neutral tone when they went downstairs.

Emma looked surprised. "Already? Where are you going?"

"Charlie wants to go back to Philadelphia," he responded.

"I've got to get back to my family," Charlie added.

"And where are you going?" Emma asked her son.

"With her," Connor responded matter-of-factly.

"You're not going anywhere near Miles after he tried to kill you," Emma insisted.

"I know," he told her. "I'm going back with her and when we get to Philly she's going back to her family."

"And you?" Emma prodded.

"I'm going back to Independence Hall," Connor told her.

He felt a twist in his gut at the sight of his mother's reaction. She was guarding her expression, but he knew her well enough to see the way her body tensed and her breathing became subtly heavier.

"You're not sick of your father anymore?" Emma asked him, then hesitated for a moment. "Or are you just even more sick of being here."

Connor had definitely dug himself into a hole.

"You know it's not that," he told her.

"If you want to go back, I'm not going to stop you," his mother told him. "But you could at least tell me why. Two days ago, you didn't want anything to do with him anymore."

"I said he didn't want anything to do with me," Connor corrected, then shifted uncomfortably. "The republic's a mess and, in case you haven't noticed, the militia isn't exactly helping."

"That isn't anything new," Charlie pointed out. She spoke a little louder when he turned to look at her. "I mean, that's part of why Miles left."

"She's right," Emma told him. "You already knew all that."

"Yeah, well. It's worse now," he responded. "No one takes him seriously. He's a joke and the only reason people follow him is because he's so paranoid that they're afraid they're going to get killed for even thinking anything bad about him. I'm sick of not getting a say and he's not going to kill me."

He left his reasoning at that because he knew it was what the part they would want to hear. They could handle him wanting to go back to stop Monroe from completely destroying the republic. He wasn't so sure either of them wanted to hear that he still cared what Monroe thought of him or that he wanted there to be a republic left for him to take over some day. But if Charlie was going back to her old life, then why shouldn't he go back to his? He could patch things over with his father. Monroe'd be so thrilled to have it proved to Connor that there had been no point running away with Charlie that he might not even lecture him that much. Connor could pretend to agree with him enough that just maybe he could convince his father to give him another chance to do something. But there was no way that his mother and Charlie wanted to hear about his plans to regain his father's trust, so he would let them believe what they wanted.

"Okay, but I'm coming with you," Emma told him.

"What?"

Connor must have heard that wrong. There was no way in hell his mom had just said that she was voluntarily going to go to Philadelphia, let alone back to Independence Hall to live with Monroe.

"You heard me," she insisted. "I'm going with you. I can't sit at home and ignore everything that's going on anymore. Besides, I want to see you more."

"People will know you're not dead then," Connor pointed out, even though he knew it was an obvious observation. "You won't be safe. Are you sure you want to do that?"

"The world isn't safe," Emma countered. "I want to go with you. I've hidden from your dad and everything else for long enough."

Connor had a sneaking suspicion that part of the reason she wanted to go was because she had found out about how much he and Monroe fought. Or because she wanted to yell at him for letting Connor get captured.

"Okay."


	23. Chapter 23

It was late evening when Miles and Monroe finally made it to Emma's house. Miles stood on the doorstep, eying the street he hadn't been on in over a decade, as Monroe knocked on the door. There was no answer, so he knocked on the door again, this time much louder.

A few more seconds passed in silence before Miles turned to look over at what Monroe was waiting for.

"No one's answering the door," he pointed out.

"I noticed," Miles responded dryly. "Why don't you try opening it? I didn't walk all this way with you so that you could let a closed door get in your way."

Monroe rolled his eyes, but reached for the doorknob nonetheless. His brow furrowed as he pushed the door open.

"It's unlocked," he said in a confused tone.

Miles refrained from making a snarky comment as he stepped into the house after Monroe. No candles or oil lamps lit the house. The living room and hallways were dim and the only sounds were their breathing and the squeak of the floorboards under Monroe's feet.

"You sure she still lives here?" Miles asked. Sure, a lot of her stuff was still in the house, but everyone left things behind since the blackout.

Monroe didn't respond as he disappeared down the hallway. Miles followed him until he stopped in the kitchen.

"There's three plates out," Monroe stated coldly. "They were here."

Miles glanced at the table. It was set for three people and if there had been food left over on the plates or drink left in the glasses, it would almost look like they'd had to disappear in the middle of a meal. Instead, it looked like they had sat down for one final meal and then left their dirty dishes on the table because they weren't planning on coming back.

"I'll check upstairs," Miles said, although he did not expect to have any luck.

The second floor of the house was just as quiet as the first one had been. The first empty bedroom must have been Connor's. The bedding was in a state of complete disarray and there was no sign that anyone was staying there. When Miles checked the closet and drawers, he found some clothes, but there were empty hangers and dustless rectangles where clothing had clearly used to be folded or hung.

Miles went past the washroom and to Emma's room. Her clothes were in the same state. It was clear that she had packed some of them recently.

Monroe didn't look up when Miles entered the kitchen again. He was sitting in one of the chairs with his head in his hand.

Miles froze in the doorway, leaning against the frame, and glanced down the hallway as he said, "No one's up there. Looks like they packed clothes not that long ago."

"I screwed everything up so bad," Monroe muttered. His voice came out muffled by his hand.

"You're just figuring that out now?" Miles questioned automatically.

"We're never going to find them," Monroe pointed out. "They could be anywhere. We may as well just give up."

He wasn't wrong. Odds of them finding any of them were beyond poor. Even Emma was hiding from him now. That didn't bode well for Miles though. At least it probably meant Charlie was alright and safe, but if Monroe had given up on finding his kid, then Miles was in trouble.

Sure, he could leave now or disappear in the middle of the night when they were traveling, but then Monroe still had an idea of where the rebel base was and Miles was sure he would take his frustration out on the rebels. Even if Miles managed to get back in time to warn them and try to get them safely out of there, the rebels would still be taking a big hit. Whether he liked it or not, he was stuck with Monroe.

"We should get going," Miles responded finally. "It's not a good idea to stay in town overnight. We don't need people spotting us when it's light out."

Monroe didn't move.

"They're not coming back here," Miles tried again.

"I know," Monroe responded as he lifted his head from his hand. "They're not coming back."

"Look, it's a long trip back to Philly," Miles pointed out. "We should get moving."

"Yeah, you're right," Monroe responded unenthusiastically as he rose from the chair. "Let's go."

* * *

"There's something else we didn't tell you about how we met," Connor told his mother when they stopped walking to set up camp for the night. "And you're not going to like it."

Personally, Connor would be perfectly happy to live the rest of his life without his mom finding out those details, but she was going to find out sooner or later and it was better to find out from him then than from someone else in Independence Hall later.

"I'm listening," Emma responded.

"You already know that Charlie's a rebel and we met in a bar. Well, she was also undercover when we met and she was trying to get close to me so that she could get into Independence Hall to get information for the rebels," he started, then hesitated for a moment. "And that's not the part you're not going to like."

"I think I can handle whatever it is," Emma insisted.

Connor wasn't exactly eager to tell his mom how Charlie had found and tricked him in the middle of a brothel, so he was relieved when she jumped in to save him.

"I posed as a prostitute to get his attention," Charlie filled in.

Connor managed to dodge his mother's gaze for a moment before the urge to look up so he could judge her reaction became too much.

"Okay," she said calmly.

"Okay?" Connor questioned. "That's it?"

"Well, what do you want me to say to that?" Emma asked. "Obviously, you two really care about each other and she isn't just using you for information anymore. Maybe it's not the start I'd prefer for you two have had, but I'm glad you told me."

"You are?"

Connor couldn't imagine why. He glanced over at Charlie to see if she looked like she understood something he didn't, but she looked just as surprised as he felt.

"You don't like it when I hide things about your dad from you, even when they're not things you want to hear," she pointed out. "I don't like it when you hide things about him and Philadelphia from me, even when they're things I don't necessarily want to hear. We're going back together, so we may as well stop hiding things from each other and start being honest. Don't you think so?"

Connor liked the idea of someone actually telling him about what was going on and he wanted to be a united front if his mom was going to be back around Monroe for him, so he agreed, "Sounds like a good idea."

"Good," his mother responded. "So, how much longer is this walk going to take?"

"You want me to be a hundred percent honest?" Connor asked as his lip twitched up into a smirk.

"Maybe lie to me one more time," she told him.

"It's nowhere near as far as you'd think it would be," he played along. "It really doesn't take that long. We'll be there soon. And in no time, our feet will get used to all this walking and stop getting blisters."

"Not too soon though. Right?" Charlie asked.

"I'm not sure I can convincingly lie to one of you, let alone both of you," Connor pointed out. "But whether the trip drags out or not, at least one of you is guaranteed to be happy."


	24. Chapter 24

"This trip felt like it was taking a lot longer on the way here," Connor commented.

"We had horses part of the way here," Charlie pointed out. "It's taking longer now than it was before."

"Well, it feels like it's going quicker," he insisted. "And I'm not looking forward to splitting up."

She could feel their time together slipping away faster than she would like too.

"Neither am I," Charlie told him, then forced a little humour into her tone. "At least you'll have your old bed back though."

"Yeah," he agreed. "But you won't be in it. That bed's too big for one person. You know, you could come back with me."

She knew he wasn't serious. They both knew that, even if she wanted to go back with him, she couldn't. If she hadn't wanted to stay in Jasper, she definitely didn't want to go back to Independence Hall. And, even if she did, she wouldn't end up sleeping in Connor's bed. She would be stuck in a cell again.

"Sorry," she told him in an unsympathetic tone. "You're just going to have to go back to your huge, comfy bed without me."

She didn't dare mention him finding someone else to take her place in it. He had every right to find someone else after they went their separate ways. In fact, they would probably both be better off finding other people. But that wasn't what she wanted and she wasn't about to make that suggestion.

* * *

Monroe was staring into the fire and doing what he did best these days, moping about Connor and Emma, when Miles gave in and decided it was worth comforting Monroe for the sake of maintaining his own sanity moving forward.

"At least you know your kid made it to Jasper alive," Miles pointed out. "And it's not like he's been kidnapped. He's got Emma. He's with a girl he likes and, for whatever reason, Charlie likes him back. Believe me, things could have ended a lot worse."

"So, you're just fine with not finding Charlie?" Monroe challenged. "Even after you've made it so clear how you couldn't stand two minutes alone with me if it weren't all for the sake of finding her?"

Miles missed Charlie, but he trusted her and knew she was better off further away from Monroe.

"Charlie does what she wants," Miles pointed out. "There's no point trying to stop her. If running off with your kid is what she wants, then at least she's happy wherever she is."

"And you're not worried about her?" Monroe asked.

"Charlie can take care of herself," Miles insisted.

"Is that how she ended up getting captured?"

Miles ignored that as he pointed out, "It's not like your kid was all that safe in Philadelphia with a target painted on his chest anyways. Quit worrying and just be glad he's alright. That's better than he would be now if Charlie hadn't gotten herself captured."

* * *

No one had said anything for the last mile or so. Charlie was too filled with dread about how close they were to her home to offer up any conversation, even as she told herself that she should make the best of what remained of her dwindling time with Connor.

Charlie hesitated for a moment before she reluctantly stopped walking. She had already led Connor and Emma closer to the rebel base than she probably should have because she hadn't been ready to say her goodbyes, but soon they would be at risk of getting spotted by any rebels who were out hunting or on their way to a mission. She knew she couldn't put their parting off any longer.

"You can't come any further," she told them.

Connor froze and frowned, then glanced over at his mother.

"Alright, I'll give you two a minute," she said. "But I want to say my goodbye first."

Emma stepped past her son and pulled Charlie into a hug.

"Good luck out here," she told her.

"You too," Charlie responded with a pit in her stomach. Saying goodbye to Emma was hard enough. How was she supposed to say it to Connor?

Charlie watched Emma disappear into the tree line, then turned to look over at Connor. His eyes hadn't left her since they had stopped.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to do this," he told her. "I didn't want to think about this part, so I didn't plan anything. Now, I don't know what to say to you."

Charlie wasn't sure either. How were they supposed to go back to opposite sides and pretend like none of this had ever happened?

Of course, she was the first one to start crying. She had always cried too easily. That came in handy when she needed to sway her uncle to her opinion, but it was not very convenient in that situation.

"You're the worst mission I've ever taken," she accused with a weak laugh.

"Do you wish you hadn't?" He asked as he took a step closer to her. He wasn't laughing.

"No," she admitted. "But I wish you weren't a mission. I wish we could stay together without having to hide from everything." She wished she could be with him without having to hide from her own family.

Charlie looked down at the ground. This was too hard. She was mad at him for being Monroe's son and she was mad at herself for deciding to leave Jasper, even though she knew there was no other option she could have ever chosen.

"Me too," he told her. He shot her a forced smile as he assured her, "You couldn't have done a much better job at your mission though. I've never been this invested with anyone before. Not even close."

The tears were getting worse now and Charlie couldn't do anything to stop them.

When Connor wrapped his arms around her waist, she clung to him as if holding him tight enough was the secret to stopping time so they could stay there together for as long as they wanted. She buried her face in the front of his shirt, then felt him kiss her on the top of the head.

"I know this isn't the greatest time for this," he told her. "But this is my last chance, so I may as well tell you now instead of regretting it later."

She removed her face from his shirt and blinked up at him curiously as she moved one of her hands to his face and gently stroked his cheek with her thumb.

"I love you, Charlie."

Charlie's heart wrenched at the sound of the words she wanted to hear, just not in this context.

She gently tilted his chin down, directing his gaze towards her, even though she clearly already had his undivided attention. "I love you too, Connor Bennett."

Charlie could taste the saltiness of her own tears when she pulled him in for a kiss.

Part of her was worried that Emma would come back and interrupt them before she was ready for him to leave, but part of her was afraid that Emma would give them as much time as they needed and they'd never be able to make themselves go their separate ways.

"Great," she muttered when she pulled her lips away from his. Her arms were still wrapped around his neck and their noses were practically touching as his eyes flickered up from her lips to meet her eyes. "I'm going to walk back in crying in front of all the rebels."

"You don't have to go back yet," he tried, but she could see in his eyes that he wasn't holding out much hope of convincing her.

"If I stay here now, then I'm just going to start crying again when I go to leave," she pointed out.

"I know it wasn't a well thought out plan," he admitted. "I just don't want to watch you go."

Charlie untangled her arms from around him, even though her heart was screaming at her to hold on. He released his hold on her and she reluctantly made herself take a step back.

She wished she had something to give him, but she had nothing with her but her clothes, blanket, and weapons. She dropped her gaze towards the grass and the bracelets she kept on her at all times caught her eye, so she reached to untie the red beaded one.

"Here," she said as she held it carefully out to him. "Something to remember me by."

He stuck his arm out and let her tie it around his wrist, next to a couple of bracelets of his. His looked like they were worth much more than hers. Her bracelets weren't necessarily nice, but they held sentimental value to her. When she finished, he unhooked his silver chained bracelet and offered it to her.

"You're not allowed to forget me either then," he insisted.

"There's no chance of that," she assured him.

She let him fasten his bracelet around her wrist, then slowly took a step back. Then another one. And another. One step at a time was the only way she could force herself to keep moving away from him.

She offered him a faint smile as she teased, "Try not to get yourself captured again."

His smile looked about as convincing as hers felt when he responded, "You too."

* * *

Charlie entered the rebel base through the back entrance with the hope of sparing herself a little embarrassment over her red-rimmed eyes and the sobs that were threatening to return at any moment. She checked Danny's room first, but he wasn't there. Her mom wasn't in hers either. Neither Miles nor Nora were in their room. Technically it was Nora's room, but Miles spent more time in it than he ever had in his own. Still, she checked his just in case. He wasn't there either. That meant she was going to have to go looking for them.

When she tracked her family down a few minutes later, she spotted them from the hallway before they noticed her.

Danny was sitting in the window seat of what was supposed to be a common room. Miles had decided he'd wanted to have private conversations and had kicked enough people out of the room enough times that not many dared to enter it anymore though.

Danny was staring out the window in the opposite direction of Charlie with a frown on his face. Rachel and Nora were sitting closer to her, but they were facing Danny. None of them had noticed she was there yet.

Charlie paused in the threshold of the room so that she could eavesdrop on what they were talking about for a moment before interrupting them.

"Maybe if we're lucky Miles'll kill Monroe and then come back," Danny suggested. "At least then someone would be doing something instead of just sitting around."

Charlie couldn't have heard that right. Besides the fact that it sounded like the rebels had been at a complete standstill since she left, why did it sound like Miles was off somewhere else on his own?

"I wouldn't count on it," Rachel told her son.

"Why not?" Danny asked. "He's alone with Monroe. It's the perfect opportunity. If we're not going to attack his headquarters while he isn't there, then Miles better at least attack him."

"Danny, he's had the chance to kill Monroe before," Nora pointed out. "He planned it out and everything. He had the perfect chance, but he couldn't make himself pull the trigger."

"Maybe he'll go through with it this time," Danny commented although Charlie could hear in his tone that he wasn't convinced. "I mean, if Monroe finds Charlie he'll kill her. Sounds like reason enough for Miles to change his mind to me."

Charlie knew she should have spoken up then. She should have told them she was there or asked what the hell Miles was doing with Monroe, but the shock had her wordlessly frozen in place.

"He won't let Monroe touch Charlie," Rachel agreed. "But I don't think he'll kill Monroe to stop him. He'll let him go."

"Why?" Danny asked in an irritated tone. He turned his head to look over at his mother as he insisted, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever-"

Charlie smiled weakly over at her brother as he met her eyes. She should be grinning and running over to hug him, but this wasn't how their reunion was supposed to be. Miles was supposed to be there, lecturing her about how stupid of a mistake she had made. He wasn't supposed to be off making more stupid mistakes without her.

Her mother and Nora turned their heads around to see what Danny was staring at and both looked surprised to see her there.

"Charlie?" Her mother asked. There was a long pause before she thought to add, "Are you alright?"

Charlie nodded her head, then asked, "Where's Miles?"

No one seemed eager to be the one to tell her.

Danny ignored her question altogether for the time being as he asked, "Why do you look like you were crying?"

"Because I was," Charlie responded. She knew there was no point trying to hide it from him.

"What did Monroe's kid do to you?" Danny demanded.

"Nothing," Charlie assured him. "Really. I just couldn't bench myself like that any longer and I missed you guys. I got emotional saying goodbye. That's all."

It was silent again for several uncomfortable seconds before Charlie held Nora's gaze for long enough that the other woman gave in.

"I found your note after you didn't come back that morning," she said.

She seemed to be choosing her words carefully. Charlie wished she would explain faster.

"But Miles had already decided we'd given Connor more than enough time to get you out of there, so he must have gone back on his word," Nora continued. "I'd already had to talk him down from turning himself in for you the night before. He wasn't going to wait any longer to see if you were safe or not."

Charlie felt like someone had punched her in the gut. Miles had willingly turned himself into Monroe for her, all because of some stupid risk he had told her not to take.

"He's just been locked up in Independence Hall this whole time?" Charlie questioned.

She knew it was wrong as soon as she asked it. Hadn't they said something about Monroe not being there? None of what she was hearing made any sense.

"No," Rachel told her. "He came back the same day. He made a deal with Monroe."

Charlie felt like she was going throw up.

"Why would he do that, especially when I had already gotten away from Monroe?" She demanded.

"He went looking for you and Connor with Monroe. The deal was that Monroe lets you and Miles go and he gets Connor back," Nora explained.

"But Monroe never would have kept that deal anyways," Charlie argued. "Why would Miles take it?"

"That's what I've been saying this whole time," Danny told her, sounding relieved to have someone on his side.

"Miles was convinced Monroe would keep his word," Nora explained. "And it was his best bet at getting away and keeping Monroe from going after you."

"Well, obviously, we have to go find him," Charlie pointed out.

She couldn't believe that they had let him run off with Monroe, let alone that they had never gone looking for him when he hadn't come back.

"No. We don't," Nora insisted.

"Are you kidding me?" Charlie questioned.

"No," Nora told her. "Miles left me in charge and I'm saying we're not going looking for him. We have no clue where he could be and we can't just go look everywhere for him. In case you haven't noticed, you and Miles dropping everything to look for each other the second you go missing isn't exactly working out. At some point, Miles is either going to come back here or else he'll end up dragged back with Monroe. Either way, we'll hear about it if we wait here for him. We won't if we run off looking for him somewhere else. Monroe isn't going to leave Independence Hall forever. If he goes back and Miles isn't here, then we start talking about how to get him back."


	25. Chapter 25

As Connor and his mother entered Independence Hall, he ignored the stares they received from the guards.

"I thought you were missing," one of the guards outside his room commented when he walked up.

"Glad to know you've been protecting my clothes since I mysteriously disappeared," Connor commented sarcastically. "Makes me feel really safe."

"You didn't go missing on our watch," the guard pointed out with a hint of hesitation in his tone.

Connor hated to admit the guy had a point, so he didn't.

"Do you want to prove you're worth more than guarding an empty room?" He questioned. "You think you can handle something a little more important?"

Apparently, the guards thought it was a rhetorical question because neither of them answered him. Connor decided to let it go for the time being. He didn't need to piss them off when he wanted them to protect his mom instead of just his room.

Connor's bedroom was the only room in its hallway that was actually in use. That was the way he liked it, but he was willing to give up one of the rooms in his private hallway for his mother.

"She's moving into the room across the hall," Connor told the guards. "Your only job now is keeping her safe and, trust me, you do not want to find out what happens if you screw that up."

With that, Connor turned and held the door to the room across from his open for his mother.

"It's huge," she commented as they stepped inside.

"You like it?" Connor asked. "Because there are a lot of rooms around here. If you don't like this one, I'm sure we could find something better."

"I like this one," she responded as she turned to look over at him. "It's close to you."

Connor hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Are you okay to unpack here by yourself?"

"I think I can handle finding places for all this by myself," his mother commented with a smile as she lifted the single backpack of stuff she had brought with her from home. "Why? Are you going to go unpack?"

Connor shrugged. "I was going to go change."

"Go ahead," his mother told him. "I can survive without you for that long. I promise."

He didn't move.

"Actually, I was going to go look for Dad after," he admitted. "Someone's got to tell him we're here and I'm guessing he's going to have a lot to say about me helping Charlie escape."

"Do you want me to go with you?" She offered.

"No," Connor responded. "I want to deal with this on my own."

Concern was written all over his mother's eyes as she told him, "Don't let him make you feel bad about your right choice not being the one he wanted you to make."

Connor knew that was easier said than done, but he decided to humour her. "I'll try."

He left the room then and went past the guard into his own.

Connor threw the bag of clothes he had brought back with him from his mom's place on the bed, then headed to his closet for a suit to change into, instead of staying in the old jeans and t-shirt that were dusted with dirt.

Apparently, the guards thought better than to make another comment when he left his room, since they remained completely silent, even when he looked back at them over his shoulder and commented, "Don't let anyone else in her room."

* * *

Connor didn't bother knocking on the door to his father's office. He never did, but this time he was feeling especially strongly about not following the stupid protocols he was expected to. So, when the guards moved to block the door and tried to ask what he was there for, Connor pushed past them and slammed the double doors open.

He frowned when he saw his father's personal lapdog sitting behind the desk, listening to the report from some soldier. Connor thought his name was Neville. Tom, maybe?

"We're kind of in the middle of something here," Captain Baker said as if he had the authority to be telling anyone whether they were allowed in the president's office or not.

"I couldn't care less," Connor announced theatrically, then he turned to glare at Neville. "You can leave now."

Neville hesitated for a moment as he glanced between Connor and the lapdog, then insisted, "But I'm in the middle of my report."

"Ignore him," Baker said.

Connor narrowed his eyes at Jeremy. The guy had some nerve. It was bad enough when his dad discounted him. He wasn't going to let this guy boss him around like suddenly he was the president.

Connor turned to face Neville and took a few steps closer as he warned through gritted teeth, "Get. Out."

Neville hesitated for a moment longer, then glanced in Baker's direction as if he was waiting for Baker to either lecture Connor or give Neville permission to leave. That was the final straw for Connor.

"I said get out!" He shouted. When a few seconds went by and Neville still didn't start moving, Connor pointed at the door and growled out, "Now!"

Neville took a step back in the direction of the door, but he was still looking to Baker for help.

"What are you looking at him for?" Connor demanded. "Is this the Baker Republic? You can give your report later. To me."

Neville shot one last apologetic look to Baker before he finally slipped out of the room.

"Was that really necessary?" Baker asked in an irritatingly calm voice as soon as the other man had left.

Connor wasn't in the mood for small talk or being condescended to, so he cut straight to the chase.

"Where's my dad?"

"Official story is on some important mission people don't have the clearance to know about," Baker responded. "Truth is, you helped Charlie Matheson escape just because she slept with you a few times and then you disappeared too. So, he went looking for you."

Connor had no doubt that his father had set out looking for them with the hope of finding Charlie so he could dangle her in front of Miles like catnip to lure him back.

"Why are you at his desk?" Connor demanded.

He decided it wasn't worth getting into a fight about how Charlie wasn't just some girl who had slept with him a couple of times. Baker was already acting like Connor was naïve enough. Connor didn't need to say anything that would prove that assumption true in Baker's mind.

"He left me in charge until he gets back," Baker responded. "Which means people report to me. Not to you."

"I wasn't here when he left," Connor argued. "I'm in charge now."

Baker let out a laugh, then when Connor didn't laugh along with him, he quickly composed his features.

"You're serious?"

"Dead serious," Connor responded. "I'm supposed to take over for him when he's gone. He's not here. That means I'm in charge. Not you."

"Those aren't my orders," Baker argued.

"Those are the orders I'm giving you right now," Connor insisted. "If you're looking for the best way to cover your ass for when my dad gets back, I'd advise you listen to me now."

"You really want to be in charge of holding things together and listening to a bunch of complaints and reports?" Baker questioned doubtfully.

If Baker thought it was such a bad job to be stuck with, then why was he pushing Connor so hard to try to keep him from taking over?

"Yes," Connor responded. "And clearly you don't, so you go back to your normal job and I'll take over running things."

"Alright, kid," Baker gave in. "But it's your grave. I'm not taking credit for it if you mess things up."

"Don't call me kid," Connor warned him. "And, don't worry, I'm not planning on messing up."

* * *

Charlie should have been thrilled to be back in her own bed, but instead she found herself lying awake with a head full of worries. She wanted to go check on Danny, even though they were both adults and he hadn't had a bad asthma attack, especially indoors, in a long time. She knew it was ridiculous, yet she felt a pull to go make sure he was still there and alright.

He was probably asleep though and she didn't want to wake him, so she remained where she was, lying in her bed that had never felt large before and trying to will herself to sleep.

The door opened slowly and Charlie was glad when she saw her brother standing there, silently peering in.

"I'm supposed to be the one checking on you," she teased as she sat up in bed. "What are you doing in here?"

"I couldn't sleep either," he admitted as he took a couple of steps into the room. "I kept thinking you were going to disappear on me again, so I figured I may as well come check you were still here."

"I'm not disappearing on you again," Charlie assured him. "I missed you too much and, even if I wanted to run away again, I wouldn't have anywhere to go. Besides, next time I am definitely taking you with me."

"Oh, so there's going to be a next time?" He questioned as he sat down at the foot of her bed.

"Probably not," she admitted as she leaned forward, resting her forearms on her knees. "Running away requires an awful lot of walking and you aren't the only one I'd miss, anyways. It's hardly running away if you take your whole family along with you."

"You miss him too, though," Danny pointed out. "Don't you?"

"Who? Miles? Or Connor?" She asked. "Either way, yes."

"I meant Connor," he clarified. "It's no secret I'm not his biggest fan, but I know somehow he tricked you into really caring about him when it was supposed to be one-sided the other way around. Are you in love with him?"

"I am," she admitted. "Even after all of the effort I wasted on trying not to fall for him."

"Does he love you too?"

Charlie nodded her head, then glanced down at the blanket as she toyed with its edge. "He told me he loves me and I still left him."

She didn't want to know what it said about her that she had run off with him, only to drag him back and break both of their hearts even worse in the end.

"It's not your fault his dad is a dick," Danny pointed out.

"It's not his either," she added. "He ran away and hid from his dad for me and I came back because I couldn't run away from my family too. He can't come here because of who his dad is and I couldn't stay with him because I couldn't live with turning a blind eye to what his dad's been doing. We're on opposite sides. I should have known things wouldn't work out."

There was a long pause, since they both knew that she was right and there was no solution Danny could suggest that would fix the fact that Charlie and Connor didn't fit into each other's worlds. Charlie was glad when Danny changed the subject, instead of agreeing with her or trying to reassure her in ways they would both know weren't true.

"So, where did you guys go anyways?" He asked.

"He took me to his mom's house," she responded.

"Isn't his mom dead?"

"Apparently, that was just the official story to keep people from going after her," Charlie explained. "She was alive and well when I last saw her. She was nice. Plus, she knew Miles when he was a teenager and had some dirt on him. Too bad he isn't around for me to rub it in his face."

"I'm surprised Connor wanted to bring you around her," Danny commented. "You posing as a prostitute was the whole foundation of your relationship. That seems like it would make for an awkward introduction. And, what? Did he walk around in front of her, still expecting you to play whatever part he wanted and to agree with everything he said?"

"No, it wasn't like that," Charlie insisted. "Even before we made it to Emma, things weren't the way they were when I had a cover to protect. It was different, even from when I was pretending to be his girlfriend. I didn't have to worry about saying or doing the wrong thing and ruining everything anymore and that meant disagreeing sometimes, but that wasn't always a bad thing after trying to force everything to be perfect all the time before. He didn't treat me any worse after I dropped the act and stopped trying to be everything he wanted and more. He was sweet. He didn't want me to leave, but he didn't try to make me change my mind. He just packed his stuff up and walked all the way back with me."

"I guess he doesn't completely suck then," Danny admitted.

"No, he doesn't suck," she agreed with a smile.

* * *

Miles and Monroe were a night or two outside of Philly when Miles couldn't put off the inevitable anymore.

"So how does this work?" He questioned in an irritated tone. "Are you gonna drag me straight back to Independence Hall? Or do I get the luxury of stopping to tell everyone how I screwed up and turned myself over to you, then didn't even bring Charlie back for it?"

"Who said anything about me dragging you back?" Monroe asked. "I can't stop you if you want to leave."

"Oh, come on. Cut the crap," Miles snapped. "We both know that was the deal. I help you find your kid and I get to walk with Charlie. Your kid's still missing. We both know you're not letting me go without going after the rebel base. You want to manipulate me into going back with you? Fine. But we are not friends, I am not helping you, and if you think I'm going to play along with whatever delusions you have and play nice, then you have another thing coming."

"So, what?" Monroe argued. "Your plan is to come back and just sit in a cell and tell me how much I've screwed everything up, instead of trying to do anything to help fix it?"

"Why would I help you?" Miles demanded. "You want me? You got me. But I'm not going to stroke your ego and pretend I won't be sitting there rooting for the rebels to tear your republic down."

"And then what? You really think things are going to be better with no one in charge and everyone looking out for themselves and scrambling for power with no consequences?" Monroe shouted. "Wake up, Miles. You're the one who said somebody needed to do something."

"Somebody doesn't mean you," Miles argued. "I'll take chaos and anarchy over the mess you're calling a republic."

"I know things aren't running smoothly," Monroe argued. "You think that's news to me? Thing went downhill and you just hauled ass out of there and left me by myself. You don't like how I'm running things? Then how about you help me fix it from inside, instead of aligning yourself with a bunch of half-armed half-wits? You don't get to just turn around and run away the second things go south, then get pissed at me for not magically repairing the things you helped break."

"What do you want me to say? That I had a part in the militia too?" Miles demanded. "Fine. I did. But I didn't make you do anything. You lost it. You went so far across the line that you wouldn't be able to find it again if someone handed you a map and directions."

"I'm not trying to make you say anything," Monroe insisted. "I'm asking you to help. This is your chance to make a way bigger change than you ever could with the rebels. Things have gotten worse since you left. I can't keep doing this by myself. So, I'm giving you a choice. When we get to Philly, I'll let you go. I'll even give you a head start. Three days before I come after your base. Because I know you're going to make the right choice. That's plenty of time to evacuate the rebels and disappear with your family. But we both know that you're going to huff and puff and, in the end, you'll take a few days to come to your senses and then you'll come back and help me fix our mess."


	26. Chapter 26

"It's going to take a while for me to get used to your uniform," Emma commented when Connor entered her room in full militia uniform.

"Me too," he admitted. He had avoided wearing it and worn suits instead before and the collar of his uniform was chafing against his neck. "I don't like wearing it, but I need people to take me seriously while he's gone."

Connor wasn't looking forward to his father coming back. At least now, he had some authority. As soon as his dad came back he would lose that and go back to being nothing again.

"You don't have to take over all of his responsibilities," she pointed out.

"I'm not just going to sit around and let Baker make all the decisions," he told her. "I don't trust him."

Besides, maybe if he managed to hold things together, his dad would have to admit that he had done something right and wasn't totally incapable of taking over the republic someday.

* * *

Miles was on his way to his room to get rid of his bag, when he spotted Rachel and Nora sitting together through an open doorway. They were eating and even though he had been starving a moment earlier, he suddenly lost his appetite. He was just debating whether he should rip the bandaid off right away or go to his room for a minute first when Rachel turned her head and spotted him. Bandaid it was.

He stepped closer without crossing the threshold of the doorway as he grimly announced, "She doesn't want to be found. We're not getting her back."

"Are you sure about that?" A voice challenged from behind him.

He turned around startled and found Charlie and Danny standing a few feet down the hall. Charlie had her bow strapped to her back and Danny had his crossbow dangling in his left hand. Clearly, they were either just leaving on a hunting trip or had just come back from one.

There were endless questions running through his head, but the one that pried its way to the surface when he opened his mouth was "What about Connor?"

"He was a Monroe and I'm a Matheson," she said with a dismissive shrug. "It wasn't going to work out."

He could tell there was something deeper to it than her casual response, but she wasn't elaborating and he wasn't about to ask.

"Besides," she added with a teasing smile. "Did you really think I was going to leave you to fend for yourself? I mean, I was gone for half a day and you turned yourself in to Monroe. Clearly you need me around to keep you from doing anything completely idiotic."

"Alright, smartass," he cut her off with a low chuckle. He was too happy to see her to be truly annoyed.

She shifted her weight then her grin shrunk a little, but did not dim as she moved towards him and told him, "I missed you, you know."

She punctuated this point by pulling him into a tight hug the likes of which he might be liable to complain about under different circumstances.

"Yeah," he responded as his lips brushed against her hair. "You too, kid."

She pulled back from the hug and looked him dead in the eye as she questioned, "So how'd you get away from Monroe?"

He didn't want to get into that at the moment, especially in the middle of the hallway where anyone could hear them. He wasn't sure what he was going to do and he needed to think things over a little before he told them anything. And he needed to talk to Nora. She had better judgment than he did and she knew how wrong things had gone last time he was helping Monroe lead the republic.

"He offered me a deal," Miles said as he scratched at his stubble.

"What kind of deal?" Charlie questioned.

Her and Danny were both looking at Miles suspiciously. He supposed that they should be looking at him like that. After all, there had to be something wrong with him that had him debating going back to Monroe and the militia voluntarily.

"Nothing you need to worry about now," he responded. "The important thing is that he let me go."

"You should have just killed him," Danny insisted. "Then you wouldn't have had to make a deal with him. You could have come back and we would have all been better off."

"It's not that easy," Miles countered, although he knew Danny was right. If he was smart he would have killed Monroe, but he wasn't smart and he still couldn't go through with it. Worst of all, he was stupid enough to miss the way things had used to be with Bass and he was terrified of that clouding his judgment with the decision he had to make.

* * *

"What'd I miss while I was gone?" Monroe asked unenthusiastically as he entered his office while looking down, buttoning up his jacket.

"Well, I had to take over while you were off on vacation," Connor commented in an amused tone.

Monroe's head shot up at the sound of his son's voice and Connor forced a smug smirk onto his lips to disguise his nerves.

There was a split second of confusion crossed his father's features before Monroe's face broke into a grin. The same grin he'd had the first time Connor had taken an interest in taking over his republic.

"I was looking for you," Monroe told him.

"Me or Charlie?" Connor questioned. He moved to lean back in his father's chair and set his feet on top of the desk. He wanted to appear as indifferent as possible.

"Both."

"I'm not telling you where she is," Connor told him. "Even if she is a Matheson and an escaped prisoner."

"She didn't really escape so much as you let her out," Monroe pointed out. "And I wasn't planning on bringing her back here."

"That doesn't make any sense," Connor pointed out, then it dawned on him. "What? Were you going to offer her to Miles Matheson as a present?"

"Not exactly," Monroe said, which just confirmed to Connor that he was right. "Miles turned himself in, trying to get me to set her free. He didn't know you'd already run off with her."

"So then where is he now?" Connor asked. "Not that I could care any less about Miles Matheson's location."

He was pretty sure he gave himself away though when his father didn't respond and he looked over at him curiously. Sure, Connor cared where Miles was. He wanted him very far away from him and his father.

"We went looking for you two together," Monroe continued as if Connor hadn't asked a question. Typical. "The deal was you come back with me and she goes back with him."

"Who says I wanted to go back with you?" Connor questioned. "Or that she wanted to go back with him? Maybe we just wanted to stay away from both of you, together somewhere else."

"You're back here. Aren't you?" Monroe challenged.

Connor just scowled in response.

"And she was bound to leave you and join up with the rebels again sooner or later. She's a Matheson."

Connor hated how his father had guessed that it was Charlie who had picked the rebels over him, even if it was just Monroe's way of projecting his Miles issues onto him.

"No, she's not," Connor lied through his teeth. He wanted to get even with his father. "Not anymore. I was already running away with her anyways, so I figured what was a proposal compared to throwing my life away for her. She's a Bennett now."

He knew it would hurt his father if he thought Connor had married Charlie, especially without him there, but it would hurt most if he thought she took Connor's original last name. Not the new one that had been slapped on when he entered Philadelphia.

There was a long silence where Monroe looked like he had been slapped across the face. Connor was surprised he didn't make a snarky comment about his taste in bride.

"Are you going by Bennett again?" Monroe asked finally.

"Depends on the day," Connor said with a shrug. "Your name doesn't get me much anymore."

There was another silence, then Monroe asked, "You took her to your mom's house. Didn't you?"

Connor clenched his jaw and didn't dignify that with a response. He was sure anything he said would be used against him.

"What were you thinking?" Monroe questioned. "Do you know how dangerous it is telling a rebel that she's alive?"

"It's only dangerous for people to know she's alive because of you," Connor countered in an annoyed tone.

"Where is she?" Monroe asked.

Connor frowned, "I already told you I'm not telling you where she is and I'm definitely not telling you now so that you can eliminate the threat. She's not going to tell anybody that Mom's alive."

He didn't think that was the right time to mention that it didn't particularly matter because his mom had decided to come out of hiding anyways.

"Not Charlie," Monroe corrected. "Your mom."

"What?" Connor asked in a surprised tone. If someone had already told him she was there, then he wouldn't need to ask, but there was no reason that he should be suspicious about where she was.

"I went to Jasper," Monroe told him. "She wasn't there. It looked like she left with you and Charlie, but that doesn't make any sense if you're back here. So, where is she? Or is she hiding from me now too?"

"Wouldn't blame her," Connor muttered under his breath.

"Connor." There was an edge to Monroe's voice now. Apparently, he still cared about keeping Connor's mom safe. Or maybe he just cared about keeping tabs on her.

"She's here," Connor responded, then braced himself for the lecture he was bound to get.

"Why?" Monroe demanded. "She made it pretty damn clear that she didn't want anything to do with me or the militia."

Connor would tell him to ask her himself, but he wasn't sure he wanted Monroe anywhere near her, so he shrugged instead.

"She changed her mind," he responded. "What does it matter to you if she's here or there?"

Monroe didn't respond, but his jaw clenched. Clearly Connor had hit a nerve.

"Right. I'm the only one that's supposed to answer questions around here," Connor said sarcastically. "I'm still waiting to hear where you're hiding Miles. Or why you're allowed to take him to her house and I'm the one who gets in trouble for taking a rebel there."

"That's different," Monroe insisted. "Miles knows your mom. He wouldn't hurt her, not even to get to me. Not that it really mattered when you'd already left with her anyways."

Connor didn't believe Miles was any less likely than Charlie to hurt his mom and he hated that his dad thought he had the authority to make that call. He could have authority over the whole damn republic, but not over her and her well-being.

"And where is he now?" Connor asked because he still wanted to make sure Miles hadn't come back and because he wanted to avoid getting into a big fight about his mom.

"With the rebels," his father responded, much to his surprise. "I let him go, but don't worry. He'll come back."

"You let him go? After you waited so long to catch him?" Connor asked, unable to conceal his surprise. "Why the hell would you do that?"

"I need him to help me lead the republic," Monroe responded. "Which means he has to choose to come back, not come back as a prisoner."

Connor was going to be sick. Not only did his dad let Miles walk free as if it were nothing, he still wanted Miles to help lead the republic ahead of Connor.

"And why would he do that?" Connor asked.

"Because I gave him an ultimatum," Monroe said. "Or an excuse, really, which is all he needs. He comes back here in three days or I go after the rebel base."

So, Connor was stuck with Miles Matheson around, ruining everything, or the rebel base where Charlie lived would get wiped out.

"What about Miles?" Connor questioned, using his father's vulnerability against him, instead of admitting to his own. "Are you really going to take down the rebel base and him in it if he doesn't come back?"

"He's got three days," Monroe pointed out. "That's plenty of time to evacuate the base if he wants to make the stupid decision. We might not stop all the rebels in that base, but they'll be scattered with whatever they managed to carry on their backs. Miles would be long gone by then. She'd be with him too."

Connor forced himself not to react. He wasn't convinced Charlie would scatter and run just like that. He was terrified that she would want to stay and fight, even if she would be outnumbered and outarmed.

"You know, you're going to have to tell me how you helped her escape without the guards seeing you," Monroe insisted.

"No."

"It's a safety concern," his father pushed.

No one but him and Charlie knew about the room with loose bars on the windows. No one else even went near it. Connor needed a way to get away without his father having tabs on him twenty-four hours a day, especially if Miles really did come back to the militia. Sure, he knew a few other ways out, but they were harder to get through undetected and he wasn't about to give up his go to method.

"No one's sneaking in that way without guards catching them two minutes later," Connor responded. "And I'm not telling you anything else about it."

* * *

"Is it just me or is Miles acting weird since he came back?"

Nora frowned as she considered for a moment. "It's probably just because it was weird being around Monroe again."

Charlie hoped that was true as she asked, "So, you think the deal he made with Monroe was just that they both go back home and let each other live and keep their truce until they make it there?"

Nora said nothing and turned away and Charlie suddenly had the sneaking suspicion that Nora knew more than she was letting on.

"Did he say something to you?" Charlie asked.

"Sure," Nora admitted. "He told me the same thing he told everyone else. When they didn't find you and Connor, they gave up and came back. Monroe and him made a deal and now he's back here."

"You're lying," Charlie said.

Nora looked away from her quickly and didn't even bother to deny it. That confirmed Charlie's suspicions.

"He told you what the deal was, didn't he?" She asked.

"Maybe," Nora admitted. "But he told me not to tell you what it was."

"Why?" Charlie asked. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. "What's he going to do?"

"Nothing for sure yet," Nora responded carefully. "But if you want to know, you should talk to him."


End file.
